Bedford’s director of public health said she was “really worried” about the local increase in Covid-19 cases linked to the Indian variant.
Vicky Head said cases in the borough had jumped from “three or four” a day to up to 10 times that figure over the past month.
Bedford has the second-highest rate of coronavirus in England, with 214 new cases recorded in the seven days to May 13.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Tuesday, Ms Head said there had been 80 confirmed cases of the Indian variant recorded in Bedford.
She said: “What we know is what we’ve been seeing locally, which is a really massive rise in cases.