More parts of England to enter tier 4 from Boxing Day
The Health Secretary has announced more restrictions for many after Christmas Day
Last updated 23rd Dec 2020
More parts of England will be going into Tier 4, the Health Secretary has announced.
At a press conference in Downing Street Matt Hancock has added many areas in the South East and East into Tier 4 - the highest level of restrictions.
It's just days since a large part of the South East was put into tier four at the weekend
The Heath Secretary told reporters that the number of coronavirus cases has risen 57% in the last week and that hospital numbers are close to the peak earlier in the year.
It's these figures that have lead to the government putting higher restrictions in place in some areas.
Which parts of England are going into Tier 4?
Six million people in the East and South East of England are going into tier 4.
From 1 minute past midnight on Boxing day Sussex, Oxfordshire, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Waverly in Surrey will be in tier 4, as will the parts of Essex that are not currently in that tier.
Hampshire including Portsmouth and Southampton but with the exception of the New Forest will all be escalated to Tier 4.
This means a total of 24 million people will now be in Tier 4, or 43% of the population of England.
Other areas change tiers
Matt Hancock also outlined areas of England moving up to higher tiers.
“Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset including the North Somerset council area, Swindon, the Isle of Wight, the New Forest and Northamptonshire as well as Cheshire and Warrington will all be escalated to Tier 3.
“And I’m afraid that Cornwall and Herefordshire have seen sharply rising rates and need to be escalated to Tier 2.”
A new strain of coronavirus enters the country
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced two cases have been detected of another new strain of the coronavirus in the UK.
He said: “Both are contacts of cases who have travelled from South Africa over the past few weeks.”
He added: “We are incredibly grateful to the South African government for the rigour of their science and the openness and the transparency with which they have rightly acted as we did when we discovered a new variant here.”
Mr Hancock continued: “This new variant is highly concerning because it is yet more transmissible and it appears to have mutated further than the new variant that has been discovered in the UK.”
The Health Secretary said both cases and close contacts of the cases have been quarantined, there are immediate restrictions on travel from South Africa and the Government is telling those who have been in contact with anyone who has been in South Africa in the last fortnight that they must quarantine.
He added: “These measures are temporary while we investigate further this new strain which is shortly to be analysed at Porton Down.”
Next Covid vaccine gets nearer to approval
Matt Hancock said the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has now submitted full data to the regulator for approval.
He said: “Amid all this difficulty, the great hope for 2021 is of course the vaccine.
“The vaccine is our route out of all this and however tough this Christmas and this winter is going to be, we know that the transforming force of science is helping to find a way through.
“I’m delighted to be able to tell you that the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine developed here in the UK has submitted its full data package to the MHRA for approval.
“This is the next step towards a decision on the deployment of the vaccine which is already being manufactured, including here in the UK.”
The old system not enough to control the new variant
The old tiering system is not enough to control the new strain of the virus, the Health Secretary said.
Matt Hancock told a Downing Street press conference: “We know that the three-tiered system worked to control the old variant and is working now in large parts of the country especially in northern England.
“But we also know that Tier 3 is not enough to control the new variant. This is not our hypothesis, it is a fact and we have seen it on the ground.
“We’ve seen case rates rise in some of the places close to where the current Tier 4 restrictions are in places like East Anglia where we are seeing a significant number of the new variant and we’ve seen case rates rise sharply.
“It is therefore necessary to put more of the East and South East of England into Tier 4.
“We’re also taking action in parts of the South West where there are some early signs of the new variant and where cases are rising.”
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Whether it was Boris himself, Chris Witty, Matt Hancock or Rishi Sunak, million tuned in everyday throughout lockdown to get an update on the figures and rules.
Captain Sir Tom Moore
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Captain Tom has now received a knighthood from the Queen, and there's going to be a movie made about his amazing life!
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Joe decided to donate all profits made to the NHS, with the fitness fanatic going on to raise a massive £580,000 following 78 workouts and 80 million views.
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Furlough
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Working from home
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Toilet roll shortage
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Yep, we still can't get our heads around this one!
Tiger King
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Homeschooling
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DIY
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BBQs
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Bingo
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FaceTime with friends and family
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Wardrobe sort-outs
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Spending valuable time with family
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