Essex moves into tier two amid rising coronavirus cases

The decision follows calls from Essex County Council for the area to be moved from 'medium' to 'high' risk soon after the three-tier system was announced earlier this week.

On making the request to the government, Councillor John Spence, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care at the County Council, said:

"It was probably the most difficult decision I've made in my political career.

"When I was first confronted with this by the Director of Public Health, my immediate reaction was to resist and say we shouldn't do this. But when he showed us the irrefutable evidence, and I shared it with cabinet members and council leaders across the whole of Essex and all parties in Essex County Council, there was unanimity that this was the right this to do to prevent things getting worse."

Matt Hancock announced in the Commons that the new rules would come into force at one minute past midnight on Saturday morning.

He added: "I want to pay tribute to the leadership of Essex County Council where they've been working so hard to supress the virus."

The Essex Chamber of Commerce said: “We are concerned that local politicians have had to request that Essex is moved from the medium Covid level to the high level. Businesses in the county have worked hard to protect their staff, customers and the wider public by adopting suitable protective measures with training for employees to help fight the spread of this virus. They will never knowingly put people at risk”

“Government financial support has been helpful but cannot continue indefinitely and these new measures may be the final straw for some businesses who have to cease trading or make staff redundant and we should not be surprised to see unemployment rise in the county. We urge people to maintain social distancing, wear a face mask when necessary and to wash their hands to help bring infection levels down in Essex”

In a message to local business owners, councillor John Spence added: "We will do our best to keep going for you. You've built up great businesses, it is our responsibility to do the things we can so that you can continue to operate."

The new rules won't affect the whole of Essex though, as two authorities did not support the call for tougher restrictions.

Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock have said they will remain on tier one for the time being, with Southend confirming the situation is being closely monitored as they are concerned about the local rate of increase.

What does Tier Two mean for me?

• Mixing of households indoors not allowed - applies in private and public settings

• Rule of six applies to private gardens and outdoor spaces - social distancing rules also apply

• Pubs and restaurants remain open, but no mixing of households inside and 10pm curfew

• People encouraged to reduce the number of journeys where possible

Essex's Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Roger Hirst has this message for the county: