Waverley could enter higher tier before Christmas as cases increase at "alarming rate"
The borough council says the Government has given them no reasoning as to why it's the only area of Surrey not in Tier 4
Waverley, the only part of Surrey not under Tier 4 coronavirus rules, could still face a tightening of restrictions before Christmas.
It has also been revealed today (21 December) that the borough council there have “not been made aware of the Government’s reasoning” for being kept in Tier 2.
Currently a review of all areas under England’s Tier system is set for 30 December, but with Surrey County Council acknowledging that cases are rising everywhere in the county at an “alarming rate”, they stressed areas could be escalated “whenever necessary”.
Since Sunday (20 December) the rest of Surrey has been in a state almost identical to the national lockdown, which had been lifted less than three weeks earlier, meaning no mixing of households is allowed over the festive period – while those in Waverley can still meet with one other household, but only on 25 December, after the national easing of rules was also reduced.
A Waverley Borough Council spokesperson said: “We have not been made aware of the Government’s reasoning, which led to Waverley being the only area in Surrey to remain in Tier 2.
“What we do know, is that infection rates continue to rise in Waverley and across the Southeast. We are also in close proximity to areas where the new variant of COVID-19 is known to be prevalent.
“There is no room for complacency. It is extremely important that residents are even more vigilant than ever in adhering to Government guidelines and remember: Hands. Face. Space.”
According to the latest figures, Surrey has recorded 3,810 new coronavirus cases in the space of seven days. That is more than double the amount of new infections in the previous week, when 1,878 were identified.
When it was initially announced on Thursday (17 December) that Surrey, apart from Waverley, would enter tier three, the county as a whole had a seven-day case rate of 206 per 100,000 people – with six areas (Woking, Surrey Heath, Epsom and Ewell, Tandridge, Spelthorne and Runnymede) having rates above 200, but Waverley’s was just 143.3.
Since then the numbers have risen rapidly, prompting a new lockdown for those tier three areas – attributed to a faster spreading new variant of coronavirus.
Waverley now has a case rate of 212.9, which is higher than four areas of Surrey had when they were put into tier three, meanwhile seven areas have case rates above 300 and the worst affected areas are knocking on the door of 400 (Tandridge – 399.4, Spelthorne – 395.6, Surrey Heath – 388.6, 384.9).
Surrey’s Director of Public Health, Ruth Hutchinson, added: “Cases are rising in every area of Surrey, at an alarming rate.
“The government has shown over the last week that areas of specific concern will be escalated up the Tier levels whenever necessary outside of the scheduled review dates, and we expect Waverley to be no different in this respect.
“Nobody should be complacent and we would encourage all residents, in every area of Surrey, to be on alert, act as though they have the virus and be incredibly vigilant.”