Tier 3 restrictions are “invevitable” if people don’t follow the rules in the North East.

Tough Tier 3 coronavirus restrictions are “inevitable” if people don’t stick to the current rules, a Newcastle health boss has warned.

This comes after the North East was placed in Tier 2, not the dreaded Tier 3 as had been feared.

It is understood leaders fiercely pushed back against proposals which could have seen the region placed into the strictest category alongside Liverpool.

For two million people, that could have meant a ban on meeting friends outdoors and overnight stays, subjecting them to a grim winter.

Pubs may also have closed, delivering a hammer blow to our region’s already crippled hospitality sector.

But Professor Eugene Milne, director of Public Health for Newcastle, said it is “inevitable” that the region will be moved into the highest tier if infection rates don’t “fall significantly”.

He said: “Throughout our discussions with Government we made it clear that the existing measures needed sufficient time to take effect and reduce the high infection rates we’ve been seeing.

“Being placed in the ‘High’ tier means restrictions are broadly the same as they have been since September 18.

“The data we have shows us that infection rates locally had started to level off and that is why we didn’t want to significantly change our ask of residents once again.

“What we need now is for everybody across the region to continue to comply with the regulations and guidance and to see infection rates fall significantly.

“If we don’t then it’s inevitable we will move up to the ‘Very High’ restrictions, and that will present new challenges for our businesses and new measures for residents to get to grips with.”

Prof Milne also said that the Tier 2 restrictions are the “right level” for the region.

He added: “I believe this is the right level for our region right now, but it all depends on how we comply with the regulations and the situation can change quickly. We need to be particularly aware of risks for older and more vulnerable people and we need to pay close attention to NHS pressures.

“It is essential that we don’t mix with other households indoors, that we don’t meet in groups bigger than six outdoors, and we continue to implement the ‘Hands, Face, Space’ guidance into our daily lives.”