New Tiers Eve: Areas of North West placed into toughest Tier 4 measures
More parts of the North West will enter the toughest Tier 4 Covid restrictions on New Year's Eve, Matt Hancock has announced.
Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire, Warrington, Blackpool, and Blackburn with Darwen will all move from Tier 3 restrictions into Tier 4.
Liverpool City Region will move from Tier 2 restrictions into Tier 3 while Cumbria will from Tier 2 into Tier 4.
The latest restrictions will come into effect from 00:01 on Thursday 31st December.
The Health Secretary Matt Hancock, said: "Sharply rising cases and the hospitalisations that follow demonstrate the need to act where the virus is spreading."
The Health Secretary told MPs that the majority of new cases recorded yesterday "are believed to be the new variant".
"It is therefore necessary to apply Tier 4 measures to a wider area, including the remaining parts of the South East, as well as large parts of the Midlands, the North West, the North East and the South West."
Boris Johnson chaired a meeting of the Government’s Covid-19 Operations committee on Tuesday evening, when changes to the tier system were discussed, as coronavirus cases across the UK continue to rise.
Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council said moving into Tier 4 will be received as a "critical blow" after Greater Manchester has already been living under enhanced restrictions since March.
He said: “The prospect of Tier 4 will be received once again as a critical blow to the city’s hospitality industry – along with wider retailers who will also now need to close - and whose resilience to the economic impact of the virus is wearing ever thin.“It is clear that businesses will not be able to survive indefinitely if they are forced to close."
The Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram said moving into Tier 3 is "something none of us wanted" but was hopeful the measures will help slow down the virus.
The region recently underwent the UK's first mass testing pilot where the area moved from Tier 3 restrictions into Tier 2 in recent weeks.
The Department of Health says Tier 3 and 4 areas will continue to be prioritised for community testing.
The latest tiers announcement comes on the same day the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine has been approved for use in the UK.
Mr Hancock also said the UK has 530,000 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine available from Monday.
Shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth said Labour would support the tougher regulations when put to a vote in the Commons on Wednesday