East Cambridgeshire and Fenland will continue to face tough coronavirus curbs with a ban on households mixing indoors and restrictions on hospitality after December 2.
Only the Isle of Wight, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly have been placed in the lowest Tier 1 set of restrictions, with people in all other parts of England set to face more serious limits to their freedom.
Large swathes of the Midlands, North East and North West are in the most restrictive Tier 3, but Cambridgeshire will be in Tier 2.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said “these are not easy decisions, but they have been made according to the best clinical advice”.
He told MPs: “Thanks to the shared sacrifice of everyone in recent weeks, in following the national restrictions, we have been able to start to bring the virus back under control and slow its growth, easing some of the pressure on the NHS.
“We will do this by returning to a regional tiered approach, saving the toughest measures for the parts of the country where prevalence remains too high.”
The chaotic handling of the announcement saw an online postcode checker allowing people to check which tier their area would be in launch before the official details were released. However, it soon crashed.
In Tier 2
*you must not socialise with anyone you do not live with or who is not in your support bubble in any indoor setting, whether at home or in a public place
*you must not socialise in a group of more than 6 people outside, including in a garden or a public space – this is called the ‘rule of 6’
*businesses and venues can continue to operate, in a COVID-Secure manner, other than those which remain closed by law, such as nightclubs
*pubs and bars must close, unless operating as restaurants. Hospitality venues can only serve alcohol with substantial meals
*hospitality businesses selling food or drink for consumption on their premises are required to:
*provide table service only, in premises which sell alcohol
*close between 11pm and 5am (hospitality venues in airports, ports, transport services and motorway service areas are exempt)
*stop taking orders after 10pm
*hospitality businesses and venues selling food and drink for consumption off the premises can continue to do so after 10pm as long as this is through delivery service, click-and-collect or drive-through
*early closure (11pm) applies to casinos, cinemas, theatres, museums, bowling alleys, amusement arcades, funfairs, theme parks, adventure parks and activities, and bingo halls. Cinemas, theatres and concert halls can stay open beyond 11pm in order to conclude performances that start before 10pm
*public attendance at outdoor and indoor events (performances and shows) is permitted, limited to whichever is lower: 50% capacity, or either 2,000 people outdoors or 1,000 people indoors
*public attendance at spectator sport and business events can resume inside and outside, subject to social contact rules and limited to whichever is lower: 50% capacity, or either 2,000 people outdoors or 1,000 people indoors
*places of worship remain open but you must not socialise with people from outside of your household or support bubble while you are indoors there, unless a legal exemption applies
*weddings and funerals can go ahead with restrictions on numbers of attendees – 15 people can attend wedding ceremonies and receptions, 30 people can attend funeral ceremonies, and 15 people can attend linked commemorative events such as wakes or stonesettings.
*organised outdoor sport, and physical activity and exercise classes can continue
*organised indoor sport, physical activity and exercise classes will only be permitted if it is possible for people to avoid mixing with people they do not live with (or share a support bubble with). There are exceptions for indoor disability sport, sport for educational purposes and supervised sport and physical activity for under-18s, which can take place with larger groups mixing
y*ou can continue to travel to venues or amenities which are open, but should aim to reduce the number of journeys you make where possible
*if you live in a tier 2 area, you must continue to follow tier 2 rules when you travel to a tier 1 area. Avoid travel to or overnight stays in tier 3 areas other than where necessary, such as for work, education, youth services, to receive medical treatment, or because of caring responsibilities. You can travel through a tier 3 area as a part of a longer journey
*for international travel see the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office travel advice for your destination and the travel corridors list
Here is the full list of Tiers and areas published by the Government
Tier 1: Medium alert
- South East
Isle of Wight
South West
Cornwall
Isles of Scilly
Tier 2: High alert
- North West
Cumbria
Liverpool City Region
Warrington and Cheshire
- Yorkshire
York
North Yorkshire
West Midlands
Worcestershire
Herefordshire
Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin
- East Midlands
Rutland
Northamptonshire
- East of England
Suffolk
Hertfordshire
Cambridgeshire, including Peterborough
Norfolk
Essex, Thurrock and Southend on Sea
Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes
- London
all 32 boroughs plus the City of London
- South East
East Sussex
West Sussex
Brighton and Hove
Surrey
Reading
Wokingham
Bracknell Forest
Windsor and Maidenhead
West Berkshire
Hampshire (except the Isle of Wight), Portsmouth and Southampton
Buckinghamshire
Oxfordshire
- South West
South Somerset, Somerset West and Taunton, Mendip and Sedgemoor
Bath and North East Somerset
Dorset
Bournemouth
Christchurch
Poole
Gloucestershire
Wiltshire and Swindon
Devon
Tier 3: Very High alert
- North East
Tees Valley Combined Authority: Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Redcar and Cleveland, Darlington
North East Combined Authority: Sunderland, South Tyneside, Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, County Durham, Northumberland
- North West
Greater Manchester
Lancashire
Blackpool
Blackburn with Darwen
- Yorkshire and The Humber
The Humber
West Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
- West Midlands
Birmingham and Black Country
Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent
Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull
- East Midlands
Derby and Derbyshire
Nottingham and Nottinghamshire
Leicester and Leicestershire
Lincolnshire
- South East
Slough (remainder of Berkshire is tier 2: High alert)
Kent and Medway
- South West
Bristol
South Gloucestershire
North Somerset
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