Coventry to enter Tier 3 after lockdown

Coventry will be in Tier 3 regulations when the national lockdown ends on 2 December. 

The announcement was made by Health Secretary  Matt Hancock yesterday morning, and it will mean that the city will be under the strictest restrictions, with the tier being labelled ‘very high alert’. 

In Tier 3, restaurants and pubs will be forced to stay closed, with takeaways and deliveries as the only exceptions. Indoor entertainment, hotels and other accommodations will also stay closed, whereas retail stores will be allowed to open following 2 December. 

The government has advised that anyone who can work from home should continue to stay home, and schools, colleges and universities are to remain open for students. The rule of six will apply to public spaces, like parks and public gardens. 

The city’s infection rates has fallen from a high of 285.85 per 100,000 in the seven days to 14 November, to 212.91 in the seven days to 19 November. 

There are two active Covid cases on campus within Warwick University’s staff and students, and 17 off campus, according to Monday’s data from the university’s Test and Trace system.

The new regulations are said to be “necessary to protect the NHS and keep the virus under control”.”

– Matt Hancock, Health Secretary

Mixing of households indoors will continue to be not allowed, unless it is within your support bubble. Gyms and indoor leisure facilities have been allowed to open, but the government has said that the tougher restrictions will bring “heartbreak and frustration” to those who are in the highest tier. 

The tier system will be reviewed every two weeks, with the first review scheduled on 16 December, suggesting that the tiers might change before Christmas. 

More than a third of England’s population will be in Tier 3, meaning 55 million people will remain banned from mixing with other households indoors after the lockdown ends. 

Mr Hancock said the tier system was “necessary to protect the NHS and keep the virus under control”.

Several MPs have criticised the move to enforce tougher restrictions, with large parts of the Midlands and north-east England going into Tier 3. 

Coventry had been in Tier 2 before the national lockdown.