Coronavirus Tier review: Central Bedfordshire to move into Tier 3 restrictions

Health Secretary Matt Hancock made the announcement in the House of Commons today, as the number of cases continues to grow in the south east.

He said: "As we enter the coldest months, we must be vigilant and keep this virus under control.

"I must report to the house that across the world cases are rising once more.

"Yesterday the Welsh government made the decision to tighten restrictions across the whole of Wales.

"Even in a normal year, this is the busiest time for the NHS.

"It is therefore necessary to apply Tier 3 measures across a much wider area of the east and south east of England, including Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Peterborough, the whole of Hertfordshire, Surrey with the exception of Waverley, Hastings and Rother on the Kent border of Sussex, and Portsmouth, Gosport and Havant in Hampshire.

"These changes will take effect from one minute past midnight on Saturday morning."

791 new cases have been confirmed in Central Bedfordshire over the past seven days, up by a huge rise of 389 (96.8%). The case rate per 100,000 residents is 243.9.

From Saturday 19 December, when the Tier 3 restrictions apply, residents must:

> Not mix with other households indoors;

> Only meet people outdoors in open public spaces in groups of up to six;

> Reduce their number of journeys, avoid travel outside of the area;

> Work from home if possible;

> Indoor entertainment venues will close as will all pubs and restaurants, although they can provide delivery, take-away or drive through services. Hotels will also close.

Central Bedfordshire Council will be contacting local businesses who are eligible for financial support as part of the tier 3 restrictions.

Cllr James Jamieson, leader of Central Bedfordshire Council said: “While it appears that the increase in cases in Central Bedfordshire seems to be part of a wider national trend of increasing cases in the south, we need to take action here and to do so urgently.

“We all need to play our part in protecting our loved ones, protecting our community and protecting our local businesses and jobs.

“It’s hugely disappointing to see the rates in our area going up, and at such an alarming rate when the numbers in our area have been below the regional average for such a long time.

“Tier three means hospitability businesses in particular will need to close, and this could be devastating for some of our business and local jobs.

"Everyone has to take responsibility and do the right thing by sticking to the rules and advice about social distancing, hand washing and wearing face coverings.

“As many as one in three people who have coronavirus have no symptoms - that’s why it spreads so easily.

“Everyone needs to limit their interactions with others. Whilst for some they only experience mild symptoms of the virus they can pass it on to others who may have underlying conditions or be elderly who are much more likely to be very ill from the virus and we are seeing hospital admissions increasing and sadly people are dying every week.

“Vaccinations have begun and there is hope that 2021 will see us all return to some normality but for now, we have to keep up with the efforts to control the virus so that we can protect everyone in our community, particularly those who are most vulnerable.“