Buckinghamshire will move to Tier 3 on Saturday
It's been announced the county will move up from Tier 2 after a review by the government
Last updated 17th Dec 2020
Buckinghamshire will move up to Tier 3 after a rise in coronavirus case numbers.
The government has announced that Buckinghamshire is moving to Tier 3 after a rise in infection rates for coronavirus in the area.
All of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire will be under the toughest restrictions as well.
Buckinghamshire Council Leader Martin Tett says a range of factors affect an area's ranking:
"It's not just the infection rate. It depends on the age range of those in the infection rate, it depends on whether the infection rate is going up or down.
"There's also the pressure on the local hospital is and other factors.
"What I am hoping is the trend of infection rate does not keep going upwards here.
"Over Christmas just because you can do doesn't mean you should do.
"Please be really cautious about what you do. We all know one of the biggest reasons for cases going up is social mixing."
What does tier 3 mean for Buckinghamshire?
Coronavirus cases in Buckinghamshire:
Yesterday (16/12) 210 coronavirus cases were recorded in Buckinghamshire, and the total number of cases now stands at 9,790.
The weekly infection rate per 100,000 in the county now stands at 211 up until December 11th.
On Monday (14/12) it was announced that from yesterday areas of Hertfordshire would move to tier 3 from yesterday.
Following the governments review it has been confirmed today that all of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire will move into tier 3 from 12:01 am on Saturday 19th.
Buckinghamshire Council Leader Martin Tett say's he is 'bitterly dissappointed' about today's announcement:
"So soon after the good news about the vaccine roll out, If anyone needed a reminder about how serious a threat coronavirus remains, then this is it."
"We've seen cases sharply rising again locally which is clearly the wrong direction and going into Tier 3 now brings additional restrictions and pressures, particularly for our local economy, that nobody wanted to see.
"This definitely isn't the news we wanted, but we'll continue working with our Members of Parliament, the Buckinghamshire NHS and local business organisations to understand the full implications for our residents, our businesses and of course for people's health and wellbeing.
"It remains imperative that everyone in Buckinghamshire follows the rules laid out, This is going to mean difficulties, tough choices and personal sacrifices particularly over the Christmas and New Year period. But, it's the best way to beat Covid-19, get infection rates down and for the country to gain back the upper hand against this deadly virus."
The Council will be issuing more details, help and advice on its website in the coming days.