Gloucestershire to be in Tier 2 from next week

With the end of national COVID-19 restrictions just days away, the Government has today confirmed Gloucestershire, along with the majority of the country, will be deemed ‘High’ risk and subject to Tier 2 restrictions from 3 December.

This means:

• Shops, gyms and personal care services can reopen
• Collective worship, weddings and outdoor sports can resume
• You can meet people in public places but you must stick to the rule of six
• Pubs can only open if they serve substantial meals. Alcohol can be served with that meal
• Spectators can attend organised sports events with 50% of capacity or 2,000 spectators, whichever is smaller
• Non-essential foreign travel is allowed, subject to quarantine rules

Unfortunately, with tier 2 restrictions in place, meeting inside will still not be allowed under any circumstances, other than for those in a support bubble.

Regular, good handwashing, wearing a face covering and keeping two meters apart continues to be essential steps for everyone to follow.

In the last week of August there were 46 cases in the county, with Gloucester and Cheltenham the districts having the highest number at 12 and there were no Covid related deaths.

Earlier this month, there were 1045 cases, 245 in Cheltenham 207 in Gloucester, 179 in Stroud 147 in The Cotswolds and Tewkesbury and 106 in the Forest of Dean. The ONS has also sadly recorded that there were 23 COVID-19 related deaths in the county between 18-24 November.

The Government has made it clear that it will be possible for areas to move between the different tiers of restrictions, depending on a  number of factors, including its number of cases, available capacity within the NHS and the level to which people are following the guidance, including getting testing and isolating, if they test positive.

Those who do need to isolate can get financial support and other advice and guidance to help them.

Cllr Mark Hawthorne, Leader of the Council said: “We need to keep up the fight against Covid, for ourselves, for our families and for people across our county.  The national restrictions have helped us to begin to turn the corner, but we need to do the rest.  Please stick to the new rules and remember Hands, Face, Space.  We can see vaccines are coming – we need to play our part to keep everyone safe until it can be rolled out.”

Sarah Scott, Director of Public Health for Gloucestershire said: These new restrictions, whilst not what we would have wanted, will help us to bring down the number of cases in the county and protect those most at risk. Whilst the number of cases reduced to around 960 last week and likely to fall again this week, this trend will not continue when restrictions are eased, if the guidance and new restrictions are not followed.   

For more information on the new tier systems and the specific restrictions that will apply across Gloucestershire from 3 December visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/full-list-of-local-restriction-tiers-by-area