Tier 4 Lockdown! England ends with millions facing tougher restrictions
Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced a wide extension to Tier 4 rules in a statement to the Commons this afternoon.
It comes on the day that a Covid-19 vaccine from Oxford University and AstraZeneca was approved for use in the UK — paving the way for mass rollout.
The Government has been forced to act to ease the spread of the virus as hospitals across England as the PM warned that ‘In any way people should not think the Virus was over, stressing it was in fact spreading faster.
Health workers have warned of an increasing strain on services due to Covid-19 patient numbers, which have reached their highest levels during the pandemic.
A further 50,023 new Covid cases were recorded in the UK on Wednesday, as well as 981 more deaths within 28 days of a positive test – more than double Tuesday’s total.
Under tier four rules non-essential shops, beauty salons and hairdressers must close, and people are limited to meeting in a public outdoor place with their household, or one other person.
Mr Hancock also said that rising cases across England mean it is “therefore necessary to apply tier three measures more broadly too, including in Liverpool and North Yorkshire”.
In tier three areas, household mixing is banned indoors and in private gardens, while the rule of six applies in public spaces. Shops, gyms and personal care services can remain open, but hospitality settings must close except for takeaway.
Source reuters
