Health Secretary announces move of more areas to Tier 4

Matt Hancock

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has today (December 30) announced 23 more areas moving up into Tier 4 and others moving into Tier 3 as of tomorrow morning.

Kent remains in Tier 4.

Between 18 and 24 December the weekly case rate in England rose to  402.6 per 100,000, a 32% increase on the previous week. The NHS reports 14,915 patients have been admitted to hospital with COVID-19 in the past week, a 18% increase on the week before.

There were 53,135 new positive tests yesterday and there are currently 21,000 people in hospital with covid.

The majority of the cases identified in London, the South East and the East of England are of the new variant. Infection rates have increased faster than expected in these areas where the new strain has been circulating and stronger measures are required to get the virus under control.

Tier 3 and 4 areas will continue to be prioritised for community testing, with more than 100 local authorities now having signed up to the enhanced testing support programme.

Moved to Tier 4

Leicester City

Leicestershire (Oadby and Wigston, Harborough, Hinckley and Bosworth, Blaby, Charnwood, North West Leicestershire, Melton)

Lincolnshire (City of Lincoln, Boston, South Kesteven, West Lindsey, North Kesteven, South Holland, East Lindsey)

Northamptonshire (Corby, Daventry, East Northamptonshire, Kettering, Northampton, South Northamptonshire, Wellingborough)

Derby and Derbyshire (Derby, Amber Valley, South Derbyshire, Bolsover, North East Derbyshire, Chesterfield, Erewash, Derbyshire Dales, High Peak)

Nottingham and Nottinghamshire (Gedling, Ashfield, Mansfield, Rushcliffe, Bassetlaw, Newark and Sherwood, Nottinghamshire, Broxtowe)

Birmingham and Black Country (Dudley, Birmingham, Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton)

Coventry

Solihull

Warwickshire (Rugby, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Warwick, North Warwickshire, Stratford-upon-Avon)

Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent (East Staffordshire, Stafford, South Staffordshire, Cannock Chase, Lichfield, Staffordshire Moorlands, Newcastle under Lyme, Tamworth, Stoke-on-Trent)

Lancashire (Burnley, Pendle, Blackburn with Darwen, Ribble Valley, Blackpool, Preston, Hyndburn, Chorley, Fylde, Lancaster, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire, Wyre)

Cheshire and Warrington (Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Warrington)

Cumbria (Eden, Carlisle, South Lakeland, Barrow-in-Furness, Copeland, Allerdale)

Greater Manchester (Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan)

Tees Valley (Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton-on-Tees )

North East (County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside, Sunderland)

Gloucestershire (Gloucester, Forest of Dean, Cotswolds, Tewkesbury, Stroud, Cheltenham)

Somerset Council (Mendip, Sedgemoor, Somerset West and Taunton, South Somerset)

Swindon

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

Isle of Wight

New Forest

Moved to Tier 3

Rutland

Shropshire, and Telford and Wrekin

Worcestershire (Bromsgrove, Malvern Hills, Redditch, Worcester, Wychavon, Wyre Forest)

Herefordshire

Liverpool City Region (Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, Wirral, St Helens)

York and North Yorkshire (Scarborough, Hambleton, Richmondshire, Selby, Craven, Ryedale, Harrogate, City of York)

Bath and North East Somerset

Devon, Plymouth, Torbay (East Devon, Exeter, Mid Devon, North Devon, South Hams, Teignbridge, Torridge, West Devon, Plymouth, Torbay)

Cornwall

Dorset

Wiltshire

Tier 4 explained – what is closed, who you can meet, Christmas and where you can travel