Tougher coronavirus restrictions for large areas of the South East
Large areas of the South East will be placed under the toughest Covid restrictions from Saturday due to rising coronavirus levels.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock set out the findings of the first full review of England’s tier allocations, with very little good news for areas already under tough restrictions.
Instead he was forced to place more areas under the toughest measures, closing pubs, restaurants and cinemas.
Mr Hancock said areas in the South East moving into Tier 3 are:
Bedfordshire
Buckinghamshire
Berkshire
Peterborough
Hertfordshire
Surrey - except Waverley
Hastings and Rother in East Sussex
Portsmouth
Gosport
Havant
London, parts of Essex and Hertfordshire have already entered Tier 3 after a spike in Covid-19 cases forced the government to act ahead of today's formal review.
Matt Hancock said the UK has “come so far” and “mustn’t blow it now”.
Explaining the tougher measures Mr Hancock said case rates in the South East of England are up 46% in the last week while hospital admissions are up by more than a third.
In the East of England cases are up two-thirds and hospital admissions up by nearly half in the last week.
The latest Tier 3 areas come after London and parts of Hertfordshire and Essex were placed under the top level of restrictions earlier this week.
The leader of Surrey County Council has said residents and businesses will find most of the county moving into Tier 3 “very disappointing news” at the end of an “exceptionally difficult year”.
The area of Waverley will remain in Tier 2.
Tim Oliver said: “We need to take swift action to save lives and stop our crucial NHS services from being put under even more pressure.
“We all need to be extremely vigilant, including residents in Waverley, as the situation can change quickly and we want to prevent them going into Tier 3 in the new year.”
He urged people to follow the bubbles guidance over Christmas and added: “There is hope on the horizon with the rollout of the vaccine across the county, starting with the over-80s.
“But it will take time and we cannot let our guard down.
“The coming weeks will be a challenge to us all, but it is crucial that we reduce the spread of this virus and get through the winter as safely as possible.”
The leader of Hertfordshire County Council has called on people to “redouble” their efforts to tackle Covid-19.
Speaking ahead of the remainder of the county moving into Tier 3 this weekend, David Williams said: “Ultimately, we must all keep playing our part to help reduce the number of cases in the county and take the key steps towards resuming our normal lives.”