The Tier 4 lockdown was announced for London and parts of southern and eastern England at the weekend after existing Tier 3 measures proved unable to control the spread of the more infections variant.
Sir Patrick indicated a lockdown may be needed in wider areas of England, particularly as Christmas mixing may result in an increased spread of cases.
At a Downing Street news conference Sir Patrick said: “The evidence on this virus is that it spreads easily, it’s more transmissible, we absolutely need to make sure we have the right level of restrictions in place.
“I think it is likely that this will grow in numbers of the variant across the country and I think it’s likely, therefore, that measures will need to be increased in some places, in due course, not reduced.”
Given the “inevitable mixing” over Christmas “I think there will be some increases in numbers over the next few weeks”.
In Lancashire, Covid-19 infection rates have climbed ahead of Christmas according to figures, with only one area recording a fall in cases.
Below are the latest figures from Public Health England for the seven days to December 16, 2020. Seven–day rates are expressed per 100,000 population and are calculated by dividing the seven day count by the area population and multiplying by 100,000.
The data includes every area of Blackpool, with areas that have recorded rate increases listed first from highest to lowest increase, followed by areas where cases are falling in percentage order from lowest to highest. (Images are for illustration purposes only).
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1. Squires Gate - cases up 200%
There were 12 cases recorded in Squires Gate, up 200%. The current rolling case rate is 152.3 which is below the national average.
2. Hawes Side - cases up 63.6%
There were 18 cases recorded in Hawes Side, up 63.6%. The current rolling case rate is 250.7 which is above the national average.
3. Churchtown - cases up 53.8%
There were 20 cases recorded in Churchtown, up 53.8%. The current rolling case rate is 251.4 which is above the national average.
4. South Promenade & Seasiders Way - cases up 50%
There were 9 cases recorded in South Promenade & Seasiders Way, up 50%. The current rolling case rate is 148.8 which is below the national average.
5. Warbreck & Bispham Road - cases up 50%
There were 18 cases recorded in Warbreck & Bispham Road, up 50%. The current rolling case rate is 217.2 which is above the national average.
6. Hoohill - cases up 40%
There were 14 cases recorded in Hoohill, up 40%. The current rolling case rate is 231.6 which is above the national average.