Next week, the current tier restrictions aimed at combating coronavirus will be reviewed.
On December 2, the government replaced the national lockdown with a regionally-differentiated approach, where different tiers of restrictions apply in different parts of the country.
These tiers are stricter compared to the previous tiers, in order to prevent a return to growing infections.
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The system is being regularly reviewed and an area's tier level may change before Christmas.
When are tiers being reviewed?
Health secretary Matt Hancock told a Downing Street briefing last week: “We will look at the data on December 16 and will announce the results of that review on December 17."
Decisions are made based on the following criteria:
- cases numbers in all age groups
- cases numbers specifically in the over 60s
- rates by which cases are falling or rising
- infection rates per 100,000 people
- the projected pressures on the NHS
Areas moving into Tier 3 will not be invited to negotiations with government ministers as they were previously.
Instead, funding will be decided using a formula and uniform restrictions will be imposed.
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Will Liverpool City Region's tier change?
Liverpool City Region was the first to move out of the highest level of Tier 3 restrictions into Tier 2 last week, meaning restaurants and pubs serving food can open up again.
But the latest data show that even before the launch of Tier 2, some areas of the city region have been experiencing small rises.
The chances of the Liverpool City Region, therefore, moving into Tier 1 Covid-19 restrictions when arrangements are reviewed next week appear very slim.
