Obese people in Coronavirus hotspots will be told to stay indoors to combat second wave

Obese people could be told to stay at home in coronavirus hotspots as part of a targeted approach to tackling a feared second wave of Covid-19 this autumn.

The Government is understood to be examining plans for a "more sophisticated model" for shielding to avoid mass lockdown if Covid-19 returns over the next few months.

One Cabinet minister described the plan as a "stiletto not a sledgehammer" approach to tackling outbreaks, with people who are especially vulnerable told to remain indoors.

The plans are understood to have been wargamed in Whitehall as part of civil servants' preparation. The minister said: "There will be more micro-stuff - that is a clear direction of travel.

Officials are looking at how NHS data can be used to target vulnerable groups, such as those who are obese and over-50, if there is a second spike so they can be contacted and told to stay indoors, The Sunday Telegraph can disclose.

A Cabinet minister said: "They are understanding that age does come into it ... The shielding cohort is way too broad - you can't say that every fat person has to shield. It will be more subtle."

The news came as new tougher lockdown measures were imposed in Preston where young people were urged by the local council to abide by them and "don't kill a Granny".

Tighter lockdown measures were also continued for another week in Bradford, prompting a local Tory MP to complain directly to Boris Johnson it had effectively cut a local village in half.

Ministers have been struck by the degree of transmission that is now taking place indoors, where people are not required to wear masks, compared to workplaces like hair salons were face coverings are mandatory.

One minister said: "The main transmission is through people getting a bit more relaxed - it is about you going round for dinner to see a friend you have not seen for ages. That is why it must be a micro-lockdown."

The local lockdowns will continue to be based on council boundaries while in rural ares the lockdowns might just apply to market towns and villages because the size of shire counties would be impractical to shut down.

One minister said officials had recognised that in areas where a council runs a large rural area you "can't lock down entire counties - that would be ridiculous".

Bespoke approach

In a series of meetings last week Mr Johnson agreed a "bespoke approach" that would stop the spread of the virus "through targeted measures focused on particular areas, household interaction and individual businesses", Government sources said.

Mr Johnson also made clear that in the event of a more severe local lockdown where strong measures are needed in an entire town or city, shops, pubs and restaurants must shut before schools.

Number 10 declined to comment. However a Government source said that the Government's medical advisers were "looking at doing things in a more targeted way".

Extra restrictions were imposed in Preston, where residents banned from mixing with people from outside their social bubble in homes, gardens, and indoor venues, such as pubs from midnight on Friday.

Adrian Phillips, chief executive of Preston City Council, said it was "alarming to see that the under-30s are contracting it at a significant rate".

He added: "I know our director of public health has said 'Don't kill Granny' to young people to try and focus the message."

Current rules on gatherings in Greater Manchester, Leicester, parts of West Yorkshire and East Lancashire remain in place.

Tougher restrictions were also imposed in Bradford prompting Tory MP Philip Davies to complain personally to Mr Johnson that his constituency in Shipley had been included because it falls in Bradford's council area.

The village of Menston, eight miles north of the city, was now effectively cut in two with half of the population in lockdown and the other half unaffected because the council boundary ran through it.

Mr Davies said: "This situation is intolerable. The infection rate figures in the Shipley constituency do not remotely justify being within the local lockdown area."