Health Secretary Matt Hancock has today revealed which parts of the country will be moving up or down between the Covid-19 tiers, with Swindon and Wiltshire both remaining in Tier 2.
London and parts of the South East were placed into the highest Covid alert level earlier this week and today a wider are of the South East have also been moved into Tier 3 which will see pubs and restaurants closing from 00:01 on Saturday, although they can offer takeaway.
Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Peterborough, the entirety of Hertfordshire, Surrey – with the exception of Waverley, Hastings and Rother, Portsmouth, and Gosport and Havant will move from Tier 2 into Tier 3.
Bristol and North Somerset have been reduced from Tier 3 to Tier 2.
Herefordshire has been reduced from Tier 2 to Tier 1.
In a speech yesterday, despite admitting the coronavirus situation had deteriorated since the festive rules were set, Boris Johnson said that the five-day relaxation of restrictions at Christmas would not be scrapped despite pressure to change the plan.
In England people will be allowed to form a Christmas bubble of up to three households from December 23rd to 27th but Mr Johnson urged people to think of that as a maximum allowance and not a target to aim for.
Tier restrictions are expected to be reviewed approximately every two weeks with the next review due around December 30th.
