A LARGE street party in Northfield was one of a 70 illegal social gatherings police attended across Birmingham on Saturday night.
The get-together in Northfield was attended by more than 100 people and came complete with two marquees and a DJ.
Officers dispersed the gathering and others in streets and homes, all in a matter of hours.
It came just a day after Birmingham was placed on the Government’s Covid ‘watch list’, bringing the threat of another lockdown closer.
Police have reminded people we are in the midst of a pandemic and labelled illegal gatherings and raves ‘completely unacceptable’.
Birmingham has become an ‘area of enhanced support’ after cases of Covid-19 in the Second City rose quickly with 30.2 cases per 100,000 and the percentage of people testing positive rising up to 4.3 per cent.
Over half of cases in the last week have been within the 18 to 34 age demographic.
Local leaders and the Government have therefore agreed initially to make Birmingham an ‘area of enhanced support’, meaning the area will benefit from additional testing, locally-led contact tracing and targeted community engagement.
Further discussions with local leaders are taking place to understand what additional measures should be taken to help manage the outbreak.
Following Friday’s meeting, Coun Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said it had to be a wake-up to people and pleaded with residents to do the basics.
“Wash your hands, wear face coverings wherever possible, keep two metres apart from others and get tested if you have Covid-19 symptoms.”
