Wiltshire remains in tier two Covid alert level
It comes after a review of the system
Last updated 17th Dec 2020
Wiltshire will stay as a High level Covid risk, as the county remains in the second tier.
A few national changes were made in the first two week review, such as Portsmouth moving into tier three and Bristol downgraded to two.
Decisions have been made by the Government based by using five key indicators:
- Case detection rates in all ages
- Case detection rates in over 60s
- The rate at which cases are rising or falling
- The number of positive cases detected as a percentage of tests taken
- Pressure on the NHS
Cllr Philip Whitehead, Leader of Wiltshire Council, said:
“Thanks to everyone’s efforts, the COVID-19 case numbers in Wiltshire have been heading in the right direction over the last few weeks, and remaining in Tier 2 gives us the opportunity to maintain that progress.
Christmas will be a crucial time and we really want to avoid a surge in cases come the new year, so we ask people to be as sensible as they can and that will put us in good stead as we head towards a more hopeful and brighter 2021.”
WHAT TIER TWO MEANS
Here are the coronavirus rules for Wiltshire:
There is additional advice for the extremely vulnerable on the gov.uk website.
CAN I SEE MY FAMILY AT CHRISTMAS?
You will be allowed to form 'Christmas bubbles' with up to two other households.
These rules will be in place between the 23rd and 27th of December so some families can be together for the festive period.
After a meeting with four nation leaders, they confirmed the same rules would stay despite calls for them to be scrapped.
However, Boris Johnson has urged the public to "exercise extreme caution" and advised people to avoid seeing elderly relatives.
A joint statement issued by the four UK governments said:
"As 2020 draws to a close, we recognise it has been an incredibly difficult year for us all.
We have all had to make significant sacrifices in our everyday lives, and many religious and community groups have already had to change or forgo their customary celebrations to slow the spread of coronavirus and save lives.
This cannot be a ‘normal’ Christmas. But as we approach the festive period, we have been working closely together to find a way for family and friends to see each other, even if it is for a short time, and recognising that it must be both limited and cautious."
The government website has the latest coronavirus advice for each different tier.
The Test Valley Borough Council and New Forest areas will also stay in tier two.
LATEST CASE FIGURES
In the 7 days to the 11th of December, there were 382 confirmed cases of the virus in Wiltshire - an increase of 7 on the previous seven days.
That gives the local authority a rolling seven day case rate per 100,000 people of 76.4.
This is still below the national average of 196.3.