There has been a stark warning from Cumbria’s public health director that the entire county could be on the cusp of having extra restrictions put in place.

Cumbria’s public health director Colin Cox alerted the county yesterday that cases were going in the “wrong direction”.

This is very much a different picture to merely a fortnight ago, when cases were rapidly climbing in Barrow but were remaining relatively stable in the north and the west of the county.

Figures for identified Covid-19 cases in the week September 19 to 25 show that some parts of Carlisle were experiencing more cases of coronavirus than others.

While there was only a maximum of two identified Covid-19 cases for the Belah area; for Raffles and Morton; for Currock and Upperby and for Denton Holme and Harraby Green, there were seven Covid-19 cases identified in the Garlands and Dalston area; six in the centre of Carlisle; eight in the Botcherby and Harraby area; five in the Kingmoor, Houghton and Whiteclosegate area; five in Belle Vue and Burgh; and eight in the Wetheral, Corby and Geltsdale area.

Mr Cox confirmed to BBC Radio Cumbria yesterday morning that he was in discussions with colleagues over the possibility of extending the voluntary restrictions that had been strongly advised in Barrow to the entire county.

This includes limiting groups of six to no more than two separate households.

“The number of cases are going up everywhere,” he explained.

The decision on whether to extend the voluntary restrictions has not yet been reached, but Mr Cox said that authorities in the county “need to be doing something early” to attempt to arrest the climbing figures.

“They are going in the wrong direction across the entire county, in some cases very quickly.

“Carlisle has gone up from about five cases per 100,000 people in a week, to about 45 cases in 100,000 people in a week.

“Some of this is ramping up very quickly now.

“[Cases are] going up everywhere.

“Cumbria as a whole is looking better than the England average, but it is going in the wrong direction.”

In Barrow the advice that groups of six should be limited to people from no more than two households remains in place is set to be reviewed at the end of this week.

The additional restrictions on hospital, care home and school visitors are also still in place.