The Mayor of Luton and two councilors apologize after violating the ban rules at a party

The Mayor of Luton and two city councilors were portrayed as violating the ban rules at a party just days before Luton was identified as an "intervention area" by government health officials due to increasing coronavirus cases.

Mayor Tahir Malik was pictured on July 21 at the outdoor gathering for 12 in a back garden, along with city councilors Waheed Akbar and Asif Masood, and about nine other men.

The three men apologized for violating the rules, but accused "extra guests" by making the initially small gathering too big.

The party was attended by more than twice as many people who were allowed to assemble under the laws of the corona virus.

Photos of the gathering were shared on Facebook, including one of the mayors wearing his mask that dangled under his chin but didn't cover his nose and mouth.

The violation of the rules has caused trouble for the locals in Luton, who may face a local ban.

Luton, along with Blackburn and Leicester, reached the top of the government's coronavirus watchlist on Thursday, with Luton designated as an "area of ​​intervention" by Public Health England (PHE).

The pictures of the party showed that none of the participants were wearing face masks properly, and they were sitting in a confined space while eating together at a table and posing together for a photo.

Since June 1, lockdown laws have allowed a maximum of six people to meet outdoors – including gardens – provided that people from different households are two meters apart – or one meter with a face covering.

"We wholeheartedly apologize to the people of Luton for violating the blackout rules," the three councilors said in a statement to Luton Today.

“We attended what we thought was a small, socially distant gathering that followed government guidelines.

The mayor and the two city councilors caught at the party have since apologized and said the assembly was bigger than expected

& # 39; In the course of the event, the arrival of additional guests meant that the rules had been violated.

“We should have left immediately, and it is a sincere regret for each of us that we have not done so.

& # 39; It is our responsibility to follow the guidelines. We are sorry that we have not met the standards that are rightly expected of us. & # 39;

A spokesman for the eastern branch of the local Labor Party said the party's chief whip is investigating the apparent lockdown violation.

Men at the party sat at the table and ate dinner and did not observe any social distancing measures that said that people who were not part of the same household should be at least two meters apart or one meter more if they were wearing face coverings

"It is important that everyone takes social distancing measures to protect the public from COVID-19," the news agency spokesman said.

“It is all the more important that people in authority positions set the right example.

"The Labor Party examines all complaints received, and when rules are broken, action is taken in accordance with the Labor Party processes."

The Luton Borough Council is expected to wait for a Labor Party decision before opening its own procedures.

A council spokesman said: "The council has received complaints about the alleged behavior of three council members.

"We take all of these complaints very seriously and an investigation into their alleged behavior is initiated and a decision is made."

Coronavirus cases in England appear to be worsening, and it is estimated that 1,000 more people contract the disease every day than last week. Official data showed today that the UK had 123 more Covid 19 deaths.

All victims are believed to be in England, considering that the health authorities of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have reported no deaths for the second day in a row. The new deaths increase the total in the UK to 45,677.

Covid 19 cases have reached 297,914, the government said. The Department of Health has announced around 770 new cases today, the highest in a week, and raised the 7-day moving average to 668 – a nine percent increase from last Friday.

According to data from the National Statistics Office, which is based on population estimates, daily infections rose from 1,700 to 2,800 in seven days, to 22,400 new cases per week.

It is believed that one in 2,000 people across the country wore Covid-19 in the past week through July 19 – a total of 27,700 people, or 0.05 percent of the population.

That number has increased from the estimated 0.04 percent (24,000) who were believed to be infected last week and the 0.03 percent (14,000) the previous week.

The ONS has stopped saying that the crisis is growing because all three estimates are based on complex trend models and fall into one possible area.

However, the statisticians behind the report say that the weekly increases indicate that the decline in the epidemic is at least "flattened".

In the meantime, SAGE today warned that the R rate of the virus – the average number of people who infect every coronavirus patient – was 0.7 and one or 0.8 and in all regions of England for the first time since the blockage was lifted one has risen.

The R must stay below one to prevent future outbreaks from getting out of control.

However, this does not necessarily mean that England is on the brink of yet another crisis, as scientists say the R will become more volatile and small clusters can push the rate up if the number of cases is as low as it is.

Separate data from Public Health England today showed that infection rates with Covid-19 increased in 63 areas of the country compared to last week, with Blackburn now the most affected area with Darwen in the North West.