Boris Johnson has announced plans for a tougher three-tier system when the national lockdown ends.
The new system will come into place at 12.01am on December 2, the Prime Minister said today in an announcement to the Commons.
He did not reveal which tier Greater Manchester will be in, but will announce which parts of the country will be in which tiers on Thursday.
Outlining his Covid winter plan, Mr Johnson said: “We're not going to replace national measures with a free for all, the status quo anti-Covid, we’re going to go back instead to a regional tiered approach – applying the toughest measures where Covid is most prevalent.
“And while the previous local tiers did cut the ‘R’ number, they were not quite enough to reduce it below one.
“So the scientific advice, I’m afraid, is that as we come out our tiers need to be made tougher.
“In particular, in Tier 1 people should work from home wherever possible.
“In Tier 2, alcohol may only be served in hospitality settings as part of a substantial meal.
“In Tier 3, indoor entertainment, hotels and other accommodation will have to close, along with all forms of hospitality except for delivery and takeaways.”
MPs will vote on the tiered new system, though the date of the vote is yet to be confirmed and could be as late as December 1.
The tiering allocations in the new system will be formally reviewed every two weeks.
However, the M.E.N understands that places could move between tiers more often than this and may be moved weekly.
The regulations will expire in law at the end of March.
The Prime Minister said the tiered-system should enable 'life to begin to return closer to normal'.
"By the spring, these advances should reduce the need for economic and social restrictions", he said.
"We should be able to render obsolete the very notion of a COVID-19 lockdown."
