Tougher coronavirus restrictions for large areas of southern England

Large swathes of southern England will be placed under Tier 3 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.

The changes mean a total of 38 million people will be living in Tier 3 from Saturday – 68% of the population of England.

Mr Hancock said areas moving into Tier 3 are: Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Peterborough, the whole of Hertfordshire, Surrey with the exception of Waverley, Hastings and Rother on the Kent border of East Sussex, and Portsmouth, Gosport and Havant in Hampshire.

But Bristol and North Somerset will move from Tier 3 to Tier 2, while Herefordshire will move from Tier 2 to Tier 1.

Mr Hancock said the UK has "come so far" and "mustn't blow it now".

Making a statement in the Commons, he told MPs: "As we enter the coldest months we must be vigilant and keep this virus under control."

The cautious approach comes amid mounting concern about the prospect of a surge in cases following the easing of restrictions over the Christmas period.

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.

Mr Hancock said: "I know that Tier 3 measures are tough. But the best way for everyone to get out of them is to pull together, not just to follow the rules but do everything they possibly can to stop the spread of the virus."

It was "vital that everyone sticks at it and does the right thing, especially over this Christmas period".

Mr Hancock said that because a third of people with coronavirus had no symptoms it was a "silent disease" and "everyone, therefore, has a personal responsibility to play their part in keeping this pandemic under control".

Meanwhile, the latest figures from NHS Test and Trace showed:

– A total of 109,167 people tested positive for Covid-19 in England at least once in the week to December 9, up 12% on the previous week but below the peak of 168,535 recorded in the seven days to November 11.

– Of the 96,631 people transferred to the Test and Trace system in the week to December 9, 86.7% were reached and asked to provide details of recent close contacts.

– Some 92.7% of close contacts were reached, although due to changes in methodology those figures cannot be compared with rates from earlier in the pandemic.

– Just 59.8% of people who received an in-person test received their result within 24 hours, down from 64.9% in the previous week and far short of the Prime Minister's promise to get all results back within that timeframe.

Mr Hancock's announcement caused dismay in Greater Manchester – which had hoped to be moved out of Tier 3 – and areas newly placed within the toughest restrictions.

Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the influential 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers and a Greater Manchester MP, questioned what more the region could do to get out of Tier 3.

"The statement will be greeted with dismay in Greater Manchester where we have had severe restrictions for nine months, where in nine of the 10 boroughs rates are below the national average," he said.

Mr Hancock said the Government "looked very closely" at the area but there continues to be "significant pressure" on the NHS in the North West.

Manchester City Council's Labour leader Sir Richard Leese said: "I cannot say that this announcement is not bitterly disappointing so close to Christmas. For many of our businesses the possibility of trading, even in a limited way, would have been a brief respite in what has been a devastating year."

Stevenage Tory MP Stephen McPartland said it was "ridiculous that we are being dragged into Tier 3″ and "totally unacceptable".

Gerald Vernon-Jackson, the Liberal Democrat leader of Portsmouth City Council, said the decision to put the Hampshire city into Tier 3 was "bizarre" when other authorities that required care provided by the city's Queen Alexandra Hospital had not been moved up.