Swindon and Wiltshire remain in Tier 2 COVID alert level
The announcement follows a government review of restrictions nationwide
Last updated 17th Dec 2020
It's been confirmed that Swindon and Wiltshire are still at a High level COVID risk, as the region remains in the second tier of government restrictions.
Some national changes have been made after the first two week review, such as Portsmouth moving into Tier 3 and Bristol being downgraded to Tier 2.
Decisions were made by the Government based on 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
These are the current Coronavirus rules for Swindon and Wiltshire:
There is additional advice for the extremely vulnerable on the gov.uk website.
CAN I SEE MY FAMILY AT CHRISTMAS?
Residents are permitted to form 'Christmas bubbles' with up to two other households.
These rules will be in place 23 - 27 December, allowing some families to come together for the festive period.
After a meeting between four UK nation's leaders, it was confirmed the 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 Tier.
LATEST CASE FIGURES
The announcement comes despite Swindon's COVID case rate rising by more than 9% over the last week - compared with the previous seven days.
In the week leading to Wednesday 16 December, 120.6 people per 100,000 of the town's population tested positive for Coronavirus.
However, that figure is still significantly below the national average of 202.9 per 100,000.