The Government has set out which COVID-19 restrictions each local authority in England will face when a national lockdown ends next week allowing businesses to reopen in areas where infection rates are lower.
Tier 3, where Greater Manchester hase placed means bars, cafes and restaurants must remain shut except for takeaway services, and that households cannot mix except in public places outdoors.
Tier 3 areas will be offered support from National Health Service Test and Trace and the armed forces to deliver a six-week rapid community testing programme, utilising lateral flow COVID-19 tests, which give results within an hour.
Publishing its rational for putting the region into Tier 3, it said that while there had been continued improvement in Greater Manchester weekly cases, rates remain very high in the over sixties where rates are currently at 260 per 100,000.
The pressure on NHS services is falling in some areas but remain a concern with Manchester University Hospital and Pennine Acute Trust under particular pressure
The Mayor of Greater Manchester says he is “not surprised” Greater Manchester’s been placed in Tier 3 when the England-wide lockdown ends next week, but says if it continues he’ll be making strongest possible argument the area should be in Tier 2
Sacha Lord, Greater Manchester’s Nighttime Czar tweeted that
“Tier 3 is yet another hammer blow for hospitality in Greater Manchester. Another day of the Governments game of carrot and stick. Our R rate is plummeting thanks to the public. Lets see if they try to point score again, as we head nearer Tier 2. We will keep fighting.”
Much of England has been placed in the highest two tiers
Tiers will be reviewed on Dec. 16, making it possible for areas that slow the spread of the virus to be moved down a tier before Christmas.
In a statement in the Commons, the Health Secretary, said that we must take the Tiers tougher he says so that we do not have to return to a national lockdown.
Only three areas of the country will be in Tier 1-The Isle of Wight, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
The Health Secretary has paid particular tribute to Liverpool, saying that it is an example of how a city can move from tier 3 to tier 2.
Greater Manchester MP Andrew Gwynne said:
“Ministers forget that we have been in local restrictions continuously since the end of July. Most people have done the right thing and that has helped to drive our transmission rates down. They will continue to fall as a result of their continued efforts. We have to do everything we can to prevent Coronavirus from getting a deadly grip and we have to remain vigilant at all times.
“But I will never understand the logic of a tiering system that says it’s ok for many thousands to cram into a busy shopping centre in the run-up to Christmas, but small numbers from the same household are unable to sit responsibly at a table for a meal and a drink in a bar or restaurant. This will be a heavy blow for the hospitality businesses across Denton and Reddish who have invested heavily in Covid-secure measures to allow them to reopen safely.
“I will look very carefully at the measures to be brought before Parliament. I support the new tougher enforcement powers to ensure business compliance with Covid regulations, but I don’t support the arbitrary singling out of the hospitality sector, which all the data shows is responsible for around just 3% of transmissions. As such I am minded to oppose Greater Manchester being put into Tier 3.
Matthew Fell, CBI Chief UK Policy Director:
“For many businesses in England, going into toughened tiers while waiting for a vaccine will feel like suspended animation.
“Some parts of the economy, such as retail, can begin to re-open and look towards a recovery. It gives our high streets a chance to rescue some of the vital festive trading period.
“But for other businesses the ongoing restrictions in tiers 2 and 3 will leave their survival hanging by a thread. Hospitality will remain frozen. And supply chains that cross regions in different tiers will be hit even if they don’t face direct restrictions.
“It’s vital that these firms receive the financial support they need to make it through to the Spring. Clarity about ongoing employment support, including the Job Retention Bonus, will help protect as many jobs as possible. Businesses need to know what support will be there through to March and beyond in advance, rather than taking it down to the wire.
“Lessons must be learned from previous local lockdowns. Boundary lines between different tiers need to work on the ground. Trigger points for exiting the higher tiers must be transparent.
“Those decisions will need to be clearly communicated each fortnight and taken collaboratively between local, regional and national leaders. Most importantly, evidence must be open and transparent – the cost to jobs is only justifiable if it has a material impact on health.
“Liverpool’s shift to tier 2 is clear evidence that mass testing can make a real difference on the ground.
“So there is encouraging news on mass rapid testing and vaccines, and it’s vital to protect jobs and businesses with an end in sight.”
