COUNCILS across the country will still have the power to impose local Covid restrictions until the autumn.

New health secretary, Sajid Javid, confirmed earlier this week that even if so-called ‘Freedom Day’ takes place on July 19th, local authorities, such as Oxfordshire County Council, would continue to hold emergency powers if local outbreaks occur.

The news comes as Oxford had the highest number of Covid cases in the South East of England and top ten in the country.

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He told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: “There are some powers that we are retaining, particularly for local authorities to manage any future outbreak, but the one thing no-one can say for certain anywhere in the world, is the further progression of the virus itself.”

This means, while restrictions such as social distancing measures and mask-wearing are set to be lifted on July 19th, Oxfordshire County Council will still be able to shut down businesses in the case of a local outbreak.

These measures, known as ‘section three measures’, were introduced in the summer of 2020 to give local authorities powers to respond to imminent public health threats from rising Covid cases.

This power will stay in place until September when ministers will decide whether this measure needs to be continued into the autumn months.

A Government source, discussing the matter, said: “The extension of powers for local authorities is about allowing them to close businesses if there is a threat to public health.

“It’s about making sure they still have that power.”

The source said local authorities would need to have ‘a very strong case’ to implement local restrictions.

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When asked whether this means councils will be able to implement local lockdowns, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister, said: “This is to enable a director of public health at the local level to, if there is a significant outbreak, take the requisite public health steps, to act quickly.

“This is about sort of closing down premises and things like that, or other public health measures, it’s not meant to mimic the sort of restrictions we’ve had previously.”

The spokesperson added that the powers to impose local restrictions would be kept ‘under review’ and by September the Government will look at evidence and data to make the decision.

The decision about ‘Freedom Day’ will be made a week before on July 19.

Officials acknowledged that Covid-19 cases and deaths would continue to increase – albeit at a much lower level than before the vaccination programme – but it was now necessary to find a new way to live with the virus.

Oxfordshire County Council have been asked for a statement.