More than 55 million people face tougher coronavirus restrictions in England after December 2 as Boris Johnson warned any easing off could lead to another national lockdown in the new year.
Only the Isle of Wight, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly – accounting for little over 1% of England’s population – face the lightest Tier 1 restrictions.
Large swathes of the Midlands, North East and North West are in the most restrictive Tier 3, but the majority of people – including London – will be in Tier 2.
At a Downing Street press conference, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “I’m sorry to confirm that from Wednesday most of England will be in the top two tiers, with the toughest measures.
But he warned: “If we ease off now we risk losing control over this virus all over again, casting aside our hard-won gains and forcing us back into a new year national lockdown with all the damage that would mean.”
Some 23.3 million people – 41.5% of the population of England – will be in Tier 3, while 32 million people – 57.3% – will be in the second tier.
In Tier 1, the rule of six applies indoors and outdoors, people are urged to work from home if they can and pubs are limited to table service.
In Tier 2, restrictions include a ban on households mixing indoors, while pubs and restaurants will only be able to sell alcohol with a “substantial meal”.
Tier 3 measures mean a ban on households mixing, except in limited circumstances such as in parks.
In all areas, shops and schools will remain open.
The Prime Minister acknowledged that pubs, restaurants and hotels – “the soul of our communities” – were bearing a “disproportionate share” of the burden in controlling the virus in order to ensure it was safe for children to go to class.
“If we’re going to keep schools open – as we must – then our options in bearing down on the disease are necessarily limited,” Mr Johnson said.
But he said that advances in vaccine and testing technologies could offer hope once the country gets through a “hard winter”.
Areas placed in Tier 3 from December 2 include:
– In the North East: Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Redcar and Cleveland, Darlington, Sunderland, South Tyneside, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside and County Durham.
– In the North West: Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen.
– In Yorkshire and The Humber: The Humber, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire.
– In the West Midlands: Birmingham and Black Country, Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull.
– In the East Midlands: Derby and Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, Leicester and Leicestershire and Lincolnshire.
– In the South East: Slough, Kent and Medway.
– In the South West: Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset.
Case rates are currently rising in only eight of the 119 areas to go into Tier 3.
Seven of the eight are in south-east England: Dover, Folkestone & Hythe, Gravesham, Maidstone, Medway, Tonbridge & Malling, and Tunbridge Wells. The other is Hyndburn in north-west England.
MPs will vote on the new system on December 1, the day before the tiers come into force, and Mr Johnson faces a revolt on the Tory benches over the measures.
Former minister Steve Baker, leader of the Covid Recovery Group of lockdown sceptics, said: “The authoritarianism at work today is truly appalling.
“But is it necessary and proportionate to the threat from this disease?”
Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the powerful Tory backbench 1922 Committee and a Greater Manchester MP, said: “This is a really heavy-handed approach.”
Conservative West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said it is “very disappointing” that the area has been placed in Tier 3, and he demanded more support for businesses forced to close.
In other developments:
– The latest figures show a further 498 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Thursday, and there were another 17,555 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK.
– A total of 152,660 people tested positive for Covid-19 in England at least once in the week to November 18, according to the latest Test and Trace figures, down 9% on the previous week’s total of 168,250 and the first week-on-week fall since August.
– Covid-19 infections across England are levelling off but there are still wide regional variations, according to the Office for National Statistics, which found around one in 85 people were infected with coronavirus in the week November 15 to 21.
– Guidance in Scotland urges people to have no more than eight people aged over 12 in any Christmas “bubble” they form with family and friends during the UK-wide relaxation of rules between December 23 and 27.
