Health Minister Matt Hancock has announced that Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton will be moving to Coronavirus Tier 4 from Thursday 31st December.
Neighbouring areas in Worcestershire – such as Rubery, Cofton Hackett and Lickey – will move up into Tier 3: Very High.
Restrictions have been reviewed across the country as cases continue to rise – including cases of the new, more transmissible strain of coronavirus – as the government seeks to reduce cases and ease strain on the NHS ahead of vaccinations being rolled out.
Under Tier 4: Stay at Home restrictions, people are asked to stay at home, work from home if possible, only meet in pairs in public outdoor spaces and avoid going out for non-essential reasons. The increased restrictions will see the closure of non-essential retail, gyms, indoor entertainment venues and hairdressers.
Cllr Ian Ward said: “The move to Tier 4 is another blow, but public health absolutely must be the priority and this action is clearly needed to drive down case rates, save lives and protect the NHS.
“However, as they step up restrictions, the Government must not abandon the workers and businesses that will be hit so hard by this latest announcement. This continuing crisis is devastating businesses in Birmingham, notably those in the hospitality sector, and they need urgent additional support now to help them survive the coming weeks and months.
“Increased testing and the vaccination roll-out give us hope for 2021, but the danger is far from over and even though we have already sacrificed so much, Birmingham will only get out of these tough measures if we all continue to follow the rules. So, I can’t stress enough how important it is for people to do everything they possibly can to protect themselves and their loved ones.”
Returning to school
In a further update this afternoon, education minister Gavin Williamson told the House of Commons that it was important to get children back in to school and that primary schools will reopen from 4th January.
He said that rolling return to school for secondary schools previously will be delayed by a week to allow schools time to prepare for mass testing of pupils. This means that pupils in Years 11 and 13 preparing for exams will now return to school on 11th January, with all other years to reutn by 18th January. Secondary schools will be open for staff from 4th January to enable preparation for mass testing – vulnerable children and children of key workers will also be accommodated.
As an extra measure, some areas with extremely high levels of infection may see reduced attendence being put in place.
Full details on Tier 4 restrictions on gov.uk
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• Community Chat for south west Birmingham • Coronavirus support
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• Community Together • Mental Health & Wellbeing through COVID-19
• Community Kindness • Positive acts during the COVID-19 outbreak
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