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Greater Manchester will remain in Tier 3, government confirms
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It’s been confirmed that Greater Manchester will remain in Tier 3 for the time being.
Matt Hancock addressed the House of Commons today, revealing the fate of regions across the country following a government review of the tier allocations.
And it was bad news for Greater Manchester, with the health secretary confirming that we will have to remain in the toughest tier of coronavirus restrictions.
The only areas to move down tiers were Bristol and North Somerset, which were confirmed to be moving from Tier 3 into Tier 2 from Saturday.
Herefordshire will also move down a tier, from Tier 2 into Tier 1, the Health Secretary confirmed.
More areas in the East and South East of England are also being plunged into Tier 3, with Bedfordshire, the whole of Hertfordshire, most of Surrey, Peterborough, Buckinghamshire, Hastings, Rother, Hampshire and Gosport moving up a tier.
Mr Hancock told MPs: “As we enter the coldest months we must be vigilant and keep this virus under control.
“Yesterday 25,161 cases were reported and there are 18,038 people in hospital with coronavirus in the UK. We must keep supressing this virus.
“And this isn’t just a matter for Government or for this House, it is a matter for every single person and these are always the most difficult months for people’s health and for the NHS.
“And especially with the vaccine already here, we must be cautious as we accelerate the vaccine deployment as per The Winter Plan. We’ve come so far, we mustn’t blow it now.”
David Dixon / Geograph
The news won’t come as a huge shock, as earlier this morning the Manchester Evening News revealed that local sources expected the region to stay in Tier 3.
Senior local sources told the MEN that nothing was expected to change in any borough of Greater Manchester following the government review. A second source confirmed that there’d be ‘no change at all’.
There had been hope our region could move down into Tier 2, including from some local leaders and the hospitality sector, as the infection rates have been falling, and are for the most part below the England-wide average.
However, it seems the government is prioritising caution ahead of the relaxation of rules over Christmas and a potential January spike.