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Summary
- London, Hertfordshire and Essex have been ordered to move into Tier 3 restrictions from 16 December
- The recent spike in the cases has prompted the administration to impose the restrictions just a week before Christmas
- Tier 3 restrictions are strictest of all, where people cannot visit people, mix indoors, in private gardens or most outdoor venues.
Following an exponential rise in coronavirus cases in the last one week, London, Hertfordshire and Essex will move into the toughest tier of Covid-19 restrictions from Wednesday, the government said. The existing set of restrictions may not end soon as all the 32 boroughs have been put under the Tier 3 restrictions.
On Monday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock while addressing lawmakers in the House of Commons said a new variant of the coronavirus had been identified and it might be responsible for the recent spike in cases in southeast England.
London under watch
The decision to bring London and the aforementioned regions under the Tier 3 restriction framework has been taken in the wake of rising coronavirus cases and rising hospital admissions. A formal review of London, Hertfordshire and Essex will be conducted on 16 December as a part of a scheduled inspection.
Other regions
As per the latest Tier 3 guidelines, Castle Point, Basildon, Rochford, Harlow, Brentwood, Maldon, Braintree, Chelmsford, Epping Forest, along with two unitary authorities Thurrock and Southend-on-Sea Borough Councils in Essex and Hertsmere, Three Rivers, Watford, and Broxbourne in Hertfordshire are the regions will be under strict restrictions.
Hancock’s word
It is difficult news as bringing London under the Tier 3 framework could disrupt the festive plans and will be a very significant blow to the businesses, said Matt Hancock, UK’s Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.
He added that early action could be helpful in preventing further spread.
Also Read: Which sectors could gain as the UK enters a tiered set of rules post 2 Dec?
Vaccine check
The vulnerable patients, the healthcare staff and the frontline workers deployed in heavily affected areas are being considered first for administering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine shots.
The administration is reportedly expected to receive only four million of the vaccine doses in December. A dose count of four million is sufficient for 2 million people only as the vaccine shot is required to be inoculated twice on a single person.
Dire need of action
According to the data available with the government, the coronavirus cases in London, Essex and South Hertfordshire has increased exponentially after the countrywide lockdown was lifted. The recent spike in cases has further deteriorated the situation and have certainly increased the burden on the National Health Service.
There is an urgent requirement of a rescue plan that can check the rising number of cases and hospital admissions and reduce the burden on the NHS administration at the busiest time of the year.
Invariably rising case
A weekly coronavirus case rate of 225 per 100,000 people was recorded in London, which is the highest regional rate in the UK, the Department of Health and Social Care said.
The occupancy of hospital beds in London has increased by 25 per cent to 2,212 as on 11 December as compared to the occupancy of 1,766 beds as on 6 December. In the meantime, the daily hospital admission rate of Covid-19 cases has soared by nearly 55 per cent to 277 from 179, the government record said.
