No decision has yet been made about the restrictions that will come into force in Greater Manchester according to council leader Sir Richard Leese
Speaking on the Today programme Leese said that restrictions have been agreed with local leaders in Liverpool but discussions were still ongoing with local leaders in Greater Manchester
He added that he had recommended that the region be placed into tier two regulations.
Boris Johnson will this afternoon unveil the details of his “three-tier” system of local lockdown measures that will take England through the next stage of the coronavirus pandemic.
If placed in the top tier Greater Manchester will see Pubs and bars; betting shops, casinos and adult gaming centers and gyms close from Wednesday evening according to reports
After addressing Parliament at 3.30 Johnson will host a televised press conference alongside Whitty and his Chancellor Rishi Sunak, to directly address the public and answer questions.
The country will be placed into three alert levels “medium,” “high” and “very high” alert levels.
The lowest-risk tier and will mean continuing to live under the existing national restrictions, so that’s the “rule of six,” current social distancing measures and the 10 p.m. hospitality curfew.
Those in the second tier will face the existing measures plus a restriction on household mixing. Two households are expected to be allowed to mix, but only in gardens.
In the very high tier overnighr stays will be banned and households in this tier will not be allowed to mix either indoors or outdoors, with travel outside of a very high risk area also banned unless it’s for an essential reason such as work, education or health.
Restrictions will last “for four weeks at a time and local leaders will be offered the opportunity to go further with their own measures.”
Two Greater Manchester MP’s have spoken out against the closing of hospitality venues
Labour’s Andrew Gwynne said I will not support the closure of hospitality. Like the daft 10pm curfew, it will drive people from COVID secure businesses where measures can be enforced into illegal mixing in homes, where transmission is actually happening. It will also destroy many businesses and livelihoods.”
Tory Will Wragg agrees: “Talk of closing pubs, restaurants & cafes is misplaced, given that very limited transmission of covid seems to take place there. It would be counterproductive to close them, if people were to then meet in each other’s homes, where transmission is much higher.”
