MORE of England will be plunged into the toughest Tier 4 lockdown as soon as Boxing Day, Trending In The News has learnt.
Ministers and medics met last night after the new mutant Covid strain was detected in parts of the South West, Midlands and the North – areas all currently in Tier 2 or 3.
An announcement on which areas face the clampdown is expected today – with the measures to kick in immediately after Christmas.
The Tier review was due to be reviewed on December 30, but fears the mutant strain is now “everywhere” meant it was brought forward.
Trending In The News understands a “Gold Command” meeting of public health chiefs and ministers was meeting last night to sign off expanding the hardest lockdown measures beyond London and the South East.
Health sources said it would not affect all of England “but there are many areas that need tougher measures and are seeing dramatic cases numbers.”
According to The Mirror, officials discussed plans to put Birmingham, which is currently in Tier 3, into Tier 4 before Christmas – meaning households in the region would no longer be able to mix on December 25.
Boris Johnson has battled to save his “festive bubbles” plan to allow families and friends to mix on Christmas Day itself, but medics have warned cases will soar because of it and tougher measures will be needed.
Yesterday the Government’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance warned: “I think it’s likely that measures will need to be increased in some places, in due course, not reduced.”
And a government source said that “things are moving very quickly.”
It comes as…
- Fears Birmingham may be ‘plunged into tier four lockdown’ after crisis meeting to tackle soaring mutant Covid strain
- Tier review u-turn over fears Brits may have ‘New Year’s Eve blowout’ before lockdown leaving police unable to cope
- Map reveals the places where Covid variant is spreading most rapidly across UK as mutant strain located in 57 places
- Parents’ fury as ‘schools may close for ALL of January’ after experts claim mutant Covid strain spreads faster in kids
- UK Covid cases see biggest ever daily rise with 36,804 infections and 691 deaths as positive tests double in a week
The latest clampdown came on a dark day of soaring covid cases and deaths.
Bug cases in the UK again saw their biggest ever daily rise after 36,804 new positive tests and 691 deaths.
That daily death toll is the second-highest figure since May and only five short of the 696 deaths posted on November 25, shortly after the second national lockdown was announced.
The figures have increased by 37 per cent since last Tuesday’s figure of 506 fatalities.
And positive tests have also nearly trebled since a fortnight ago, when 12,282 cases were recorded on December 8.
Meanwhile the total number of Covid patients in hospital climbed to 18,080 – the highest level since April 22.
The hospitalisation figure peaked during the first wave at 21,683 on April 12.
TIER FEARS
Some 18 million people in London and the South East were plunged into Tier 4 on Sunday morning and were given “stay at home” orders by the Prime Minister – even over Christmas.
But several other parts of the country could also be at risk, where infection rates are high.
Burnley, in Lancashire, has the highest Tier 3 infection rate, at 438 cases per 100,000 in the week to December 17.
It’s four times higher than Gosport, in Hampshire, which has the lowest cases of all Tier 4 areas, at just 159 per 100,000.
Boston and Lincoln, both in Lincolnshire and under Tier 3, each have around 400 cases per 100,000 people.
And Rushmoor, on the border of locked down Surrey, is a cause for concern.
It’s under Tier 2 but with an infection rate of 378 cases per 100,000 people – higher than at least 22 Tier 4 areas.
Also on the list of at-risk areas are Stoke-on-Trent and East Staffordshire, which each have more than 300 cases per 100,000, according to PA analysis of Public Health England data.
By comparison, Tier 4 areas are reporting lower cases of 202 per 100,000 in Chiltern, 232 in North Hertfordshire, 248 in Welwyn Hatfield and 255 in Mole Valley.
