New Covid tier rules: What you can and can’t do in Tiers 1, 2, 3 and 4
BORIS Johnson has announced a new Tier 4 for London and huge parts of the South East today.
On December 23, Health Secretary Matt Hancock also plunged a raft of other areas in the East and South into the toughest restrictions. But what will you be able to do in each tier after midnight tonight? Here’s what you need to know.
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What is Tier 4?
Tier 4 includes:
- The Tier 4 is similar to the November lockdown – with all but essential shops closed
- The “stay at home” message is law
- The plan to allow Brits to form social bubbles over five days was ditched, with only those in Tiers 1 to 3 allowed to form a bubble on Christmas Day itself
- International travel abroad is not advised – but won’t be banned
- People should not enter or leave Tier 4
- People can only meet one person from another household in an outside space
- They were expected to be reviewed on December 30, but this was brought forward to December 23 after a new mutant Covid strain
- Support bubbles will be still allowed
- Weddings will be banned except for extreme cases – like those who are terminally ill
Tier 1
Rule of six and 10pm curfew – but people will have until 11pm to finish drinks and leave.
Tier 2
Alcohol can only be served as part of a substantial meal. Rule of six applies outside for meeting people, and no household mixing inside.
Tier 3
Pubs, restaurants and other hospitality will have to close, but can do takeaway, delivery and drive through.
Indoor entertainment will have to shut – including cinemas, casinos, bowling alleys, soft play and other venues will have to close.
No households are allowed to mix inside or out, but they can mix in some public places like parks if they abide by the rule of six.
Businesses that will be forced to shut will be able to access the same furlough package of support that they had before.
What Tier will I be in?
More of England is set for Tier 4 from Boxing Day after the new coronavirus strain spread “everywhere”.
This means a total of 24 million people will now be in Tier 4, or 43 per cent of the population of England.
Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Northamptonshire will go into Tier 3 too, and Cornwall and Hereforshire will be bumped up from Tier 1 to 2.
As the new Tier changes will come in on Boxing Day, it means Christmas for millions won’t be affected, but will face a bleak New Year instead.
Today Tier 4 measures were introduced in the following areas:
- Sussex
- Oxfordshire
- Norfolk
- Cambridgeshire
- Those parts of Essex not yet in Tier 4
- Waverley
- Hampshire
Tier 3 measures were introduced in the following areas:
- Bristol
- Gloucestershire
- Somerset
- Swindon
- Isle of Wight
- New forest
- Northamptonshire
- Cheshire
- Warrington
Tier 2 measures were introduced in the following areas:
- Cornwall
- Herefordshire
The areas join areas already put into Tier 4 on Saturday:
- Kent
- Buckinghamshire
- Berkshire
- Surrey (excluding Waverley)
- The boroughs of Gosport, Havant, Portsmouth, Rother and Hastings
- All 32 London boroughs and the city of London.
- Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes, Luton, Peterborough
- Hertfordshire
- Essex (excluding Colchester, Uttlesford and Tendring)
What will be able to reopen?
Gyms, leisure centres and swimming pools can return from today, December 2.
And close contact services will be allowed – including beauty appointments, tattoos, nails and haircuts.
Officials were concerned that they would be unable to stop people going from Tier 3 areas into Tier 2 ones to sneak in an appointment before Christmas – so made the blanket rules.
Venues must continue to be Covid-secure with visors and face-masks to protect both customers and staff.
Can I see the football now?
Sports fans in Britain can return to indoor and outdoor events from today, December 2 onwards as the PM relaxes the sport coronavirus rules for Christmas.
In a huge boost for the nation, fans in Tier 1 and 2 will be allowed to watch Premier League games and other sporting events in the flesh after the lockdown ends.
A set number of fans will be allowed into stadiums to cheer on their teams.
However, those in Tier 3 areas will continue to be locked out.
Can I get married?
Weddings will be able to take place across England – but receptions will be banned in the top Tier 3.
The rules will go back to how they were in October – with 15 guests allowed at weddings and civil partnership ceremonies.
Mr Johnson said: “Collective worship, weddings and outdoor sports can resume, and shops, personal care, gyms and the wider leisure sector can reopen.”
Can I go on holiday?
Yes, this will be legal but it will likely be still discouraged as part of efforts to drive down the virus.
However, people won’t face a £200 fine for going away any more.
The rules will apply for both foreign and domestic holidays.
But people living in or going to Tier 3 areas won’t be able to stay in hotels or another accommodation as they will have to close.
It’s expected that ministers will soon announce that the quarantine will be slashed down from 14 days too – giving hope for winter holidays for millions of Brits.
Are there any exemptions?
The Government is expanding eligibility of “support bubble” – in good news for new parents.
Anyone with a newborn child under one year old (or under five, but with a disability that necessitates continuous care) can bubble up with another household.
And the new rules will also apply for those households where a single adult cares for someone with such a disability.
What about Christmas?
Christmas is effectively confined to just your own household if you’re in a Tier 4 area.
That means you shouldn’t mix with anyone outside of that – except if you’re in a support bubble, because you live alone or have a child under one, for example.
For everyone else, you should stay at home and not see others.
People can go to Church with their bubble at Christmas if they wish, but should try and stay safe with social distancing and masks.
Choirs may be cancelled due to the risk of spreading the virus indoors.
On Christmas Day – and on any other day – people in Tier 4 can meet with one other person outdoors, but must stay distant from them.
How have the Government chosen which Tier to go into?
They looked at the following before making decisions:
- Case rates in all age groups;
- Case rates in the over 60s;
- The rate at which cases are rising or falling;
- The number of cases as a percentage of tests taken
- Pressure on the NHS, including current and projected occupancy.
Has the isolation period been scrapped?
A new trial in Liverpool will scrap the need for people who are contacts of those who test positive to isolate for 14 days.
Instead they will be texted regularly – as much as every day – and they will only have to isolate if they test positive.
If they don’t, they can go about their lives as usual.
This will be trialled in Liverpool first then, if successful, will be rolled out across the NHS and care homes in December, and to everyone else from early 2021.