Boris Johnson has announced that London and other areas of the south east of England will go into a newly created tier 4 overnight on Satruday.
Speaking at a press conference at Downing Street, the prime minister said that the restrictions for tier 4 will be “broadly equivalent to the national restrictions that were imposed in November”.
Residents in tier 4 areas will be told to stay at home and non-essential retail will be forced to close. The creation of a new tier comes as new variant of Covid-19 has been recognised, which Mr Johnson said can be “passed on significantly more easily” and could increase the R number by 0.4 or more.
The prime minister added that the new variant may be up to 70 per cent more transmissble than the previous one. The tier allocations will continue to be regularly reviewed, with the next review due to take place on Wednesday 30 December.
What are the exemptions for travel in tier 4?
Exemptions to the "stay at home" message which applied in the November lockdown will also apply in the new tier 4 – including support bubbles, childcare bubbles and children whose parents are separated.
People will be allowed to travel for education, childcare and to go to work if they cannot work from home and they will be permitted unlimited outdoor exercise.
