There was little change in the West Midlands today when Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced the latest covid-19 tier restrictions for the region.
All districts in the West Midlands region will stay as they are except for Herefordshire which has dropped from tier 2 (high alert) to tier 1 (medium alert).
Restrictions will be reviewed every two weeks with most of the West Midlands being in tier 3 since the second national lockdown ended on December 2
The other tiers for the region as are follows:
Tier 3
West Midlands County (Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton)
Staffordshire
Stoke-on-Trent
Warwickshire
Tier 2
Shropshire
Telford & Wrekin
Worcestershire
Tiers explained: What the restrictions mean in England
One of the sectors to be most impacted in tier 3 is hospitality with pubs, cafés and restaurants allowed to open for takeaway only while sporting events must continue to be played behind closed doors.
And earlier this month Stratford-on-Avon District Council launched a legal challenge against the Government's decision to place it in tier 3 with the rest of Warwickshire, saying its rate of cases meant it should be in tier 2.
Mr Hancock told the House of Commons today: "I know that many places in tier 3 have seen their rates reduce."
But he warned that infection rates had not fallen quickly enough for restrictions to be reduced and "the vast majority of areas" in tier 3 would stay there.
Councillors in the West Midlands advised the Health Secretary in a meeting last week that Birmingham and the Black Country should remain in tier 3 while Solihull, where cases are relatively low, should be moved down a tier.
Mr Hancock added: "As we enter the coldest months, we must be vigilant and keep this virus under control.
"We must be cautious as we accelerate the vaccine deployment ... we've come so far, we musn't blow it now. Across the world, cases are rising once more."
