The Prime Minister addressed the nation about changes to lockdown rules over Christmas in England after an emergency cabinet meeting today.
It means London and the South East will be moved into a new Tier 4 lockdown from midnight tonight.
The Prime Minister is reported to have called the meeting to discuss concerns over a new strain of the Covid-19 virus.
It means travel and different households mixing will be banned - with families elsewhere only allowed to form Christmas bubbles on December 25 itself.
Talking about the new variant Boris expressed a need to create a new Tier 4 for Tier 3 areas where the virus is spreading rapidly.
The Prime Minister said: “We are sacrificing the chance to see our loved ones this Christmas so we have a better chance of protecting their lives so that we can see them at future Christmases”.
All the areas of England that are now to be placed in Tier 4
- Kent
- Buckinghamshire
- Berkshire
- Surrey (excluding Waverley)
- The boroughs of Gosport, Havant, Portsmouth, Rother and Hastings
- All 32 London boroughs and the city of London.
- Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes, Luton, Peterborough
- Hertfordshire
- Essex (excluding Colchester, Uttlesford and Tendring).
What about Christmas?
- In England anyone in Tier 4 areas should not mix with anyone outside their households.
- Across the rest of the country the rules allowing up to three households to meet will now be limited to Christmas Day only rather than the five days.
- People must not break the rules at New Year - as before there will be no relaxation of rules on December 31.
Tier 4 rules include:
- Non essential shops and gyms in Tier 4 areas must close
- Plans to allow social bubbles over five days will be scrapped with only those in Tiers 1 to 3 allowed to form a bubble on Christmas Day itself
- People should not enter or leave Tier 4
- People can only meet one person from another household in an outside space
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