Leicestershire and Warwickshire move to Tier 4 restrictions

The toughest coronavirus restrictions come into force from 00:01 on December 31st.

Leicestershire and Warwickshire are now being moved to Tier 4 restrictions due to increasing Covid 19 rates. 

If you live in a Tier 4 area, you cannot leave or be outside of the place you are living unless you have a reasonable excuse.

You cannot meet other people indoors. Outdoors, you can only meet one person from another household.

The latest infection rates as of 29th December 2020 show Leicestershire's rate for every 100,000 people is 241.4 per 100,000 population compared to a national figure of  402.6 per 100,000. 

Oadby and Wigston has the highest rate (375.3), followed by Harborough (259.3), Melton (234.3), Hinckley & Bosworth (233.3), Blaby (232.5), North West Leicestershire (220.1) and Charnwood (215.2).

Cllr Jonathan Morgan, Leader of Charnwood Borough Council, said: “The number of cases in the borough has been rising and therefore we clearly need to act.

“I would strongly encourage people to follow the new restrictions and we need to remember that there is light at the end of the tunnel. More and more people are being vaccinated and the more we follow the restrictions, the sooner we can get back to normality. That’s good for people and businesses.”

Under Tier 4, all three of the Council’s leisure centres will be closing and Loughborough Market will switch to being essential goods only.

Here's a full list of Tier 4 rules

Areas that will be covered by the Tier 4 rules from tomorrow are:

• Leicester City
• Leicestershire
• Lincolnshire
• Northamptonshire
• Derby and Derbyshire
• Nottingham and Nottinghamshire
• Birmingham and Black Country
• Coventry
• Solihull
• Warwickshire
• Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent
• Lancashire
• Cheshire and Warrington
• Cumbria
• Greater Manchester
• Tees Valley
• North East
• Gloucestershire
• Somerset council
• Swindon
• Bournemouth
• Isle of Wight
• New Forest

The review of England's tiered system of restrictions follows areas being moved into Tier 4 on Boxing Day.

The changes come after the number of daily positive cases reached a new high - 53,135 on Tuesday.

Businesses and venues which must close

To reduce social contact, the regulations require some businesses to close and impose restrictions on how some businesses provide goods and services. The businesses required to close include:

• non-essential retail, such as clothing and homeware stores, vehicle showrooms (other than for rental), betting shops, tailors, tobacco and vape shops, electronic goods and mobile phone shops, auction houses (except for auctions of livestock or agricultural equipment) and market stalls selling non-essential goods – these venues can continue to be able to operate click-and-collect (where goods are pre-ordered and collected off the premises) and delivery services
• hospitality venues such as cafes, restaurants, pubs, bars and social clubs; with the exception of providing food and drink for takeaway (until 11pm), click-and-collect, drive-through or delivery
• accommodation such as hotels, hostels, guest houses and campsites, except for specific circumstances, such as where these act as someone’s main residence, where the person cannot return home, for providing accommodation or support to the homeless, or where it is essential to stay there for work purposes
• leisure and sports facilities such as leisure centres and indoor gyms, indoor swimming pools, indoor sports courts, indoor fitness and dance studios, indoor riding centres, and indoor climbing walls
• entertainment venues such as theatres, concert halls, cinemas, museums and galleries, casinos, amusement arcades, bingo halls, bowling alleys, skating rinks, go-karting venues, indoor play and soft play centres and areas (including inflatable parks and trampolining centres), circuses, fairgrounds, funfairs, zoos and other animal attractions, water parks and theme parks
• indoor attractions at venues such as botanical gardens, heritage homes and landmarks must also close, though outdoor grounds of these premises can stay open
• personal care facilities such as hair, beauty, tanning and nail salons. Tattoo parlours, spas, massage parlours, body and skin piercing services must also close. These services should not be provided in other people’s homes
• community centres and halls must close except for a limited number of exempt activities, as set out below. Libraries can also remain open to provide access to IT and digital services – for example for people who do not have it at home – and for click-and-collect services

Some of these businesses and places will also be permitted to be open for a small number of exempt activities, including:

• education and training – for schools to use sports, leisure and community facilities where that is part of their normal provision
• childcare purposes and supervised activities for children
• hosting blood donation sessions and food banks
• to provide medical treatment
• for elite sports persons to train and compete (in indoor and outdoor sports facilities), and professional dancers and choreographers to work (in fitness and dance studios)
• for training and rehearsal without an audience (in theatres and concert halls)
• for the purposes of film and TV filming