Locked up in lockdown: What new restrictions might we face in December?

  • Watch a report by ITV News Anglia's Elodie Harper and ITV News Anglia's Political Correspondent Emma Hutchinson

As we approach the half way mark of this second lockdown what will life look like after 2 December when the blanket restrictions across England are due to be lifted?

The Government says it's still too early to know what measures will be needed after that date in England but it's becoming more and more likely that a new tougher tiered system will be imposed.

The Government will decide next week how to end the current lockdown as scientists warned a tougher tier system is needed until vaccines can drive back the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Xtreme 360 Trampoline Park in St Neots in Cambridgeshire had just invested £300,000 in virtual reality game machines before Covid hit. All have been sitting idle. The question is whether that will still be the case in two weeks.

The Smokeworks restaurant in Cambridge say it's crucial any change of plan is announced early. They want at least a week's notice if they cannot open as expected on the 2 December.

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said on Tuesday that ministers want to see a “significant easing” of coronavirus controls when the lockdown in England is lifted on 2 December, but suggested tighter controls may be needed in the top Tier 3.

It comes after Susan Hopkins, medical director of Public Health England (PHE) and chief medical adviser to NHS Test and Trace, said ministers would have to look at “strengthening” the tier system.

Tier 1 restrictions that covered huge parts of England had “very little effect”, she said, adding that even Tier 2 only worked in some areas.

  • Watch a report by ITV News Anglia's Natalie Gray

The Health Secretary and West Suffolk MP Matt Hancock has committed to asses whether Covid-19 restrictions can be based on smaller geographical areas once lockdown ends.

The Health Secretary told MPs it is “too early” to say what measures the Government will implement following the four-week shutdown in England.

But he pledged to look at a proposal to allocate tiers by districts rather than by county.

Mr Hancock told the House of Commons: “Throughout the process of the tiered system, we’ve always looked at a level of granular detail whether that be district council-level or indeed at ward-level in some cases to make sure that we have the appropriate measures in the appropriate places."