​National Lockdown Has Now Ended In England And Tier System Has Started

The national lockdown in England has now officially ended, meaning the government's new tier system is now in force, as of 00:01 GMT on 2 December.

The new tiered approach is slightly different to the one that came before it, and is generally being billed as stricter than its predecessor.

The government has said the national restrictions brought in at the beginning of November have 'brought transmission back under control', but that intervention was still required to 'manage outbreaks, suppress the virus and keep R below 1'.

"These tiers will be strengthened compared to the previous tiers in order to prevent a return to growing infections," the government website says.

"We know that social contact spreads the virus. We need to impose these restrictions and it is right to target the toughest measures only in the areas where the virus is most prevalent or where we are seeing sharper increases in the rate of infection."

Under the revised plan, the majority of England is in Tier 2, although areas including the Midlands, North East, North West and Kent are in Tier 3.

This means that more than 55 million people in England placed into the top two tiers, which represent 'high' and 'very high' alert levels, and therefore are banned from mixing indoors.

In Tier 3, hospitality settings and indoor entertainment/tourist venues must remain closed.

PA

Last week, the government announced which areas would be placed in which tier, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying that rapid community testing would help places move down the rungs of the restrictions.

"Your tier is not your destiny," he told the nation in a press briefing.

The new tier system was approved earlier today by MPs, with the measures supported by 291 votes to 78.

A total of 55 Tory MPs voted against the scheme, which marks the largest rebellion of Boris Johnson's leadership, according to the BBC.

Meanwhile, Labour MPs were ordered to abstain in the vote, with party leader Sir Keir Starmer saying he recognised that restrictions needed to continue.

He did, however, admit that he was 'far from convinced' that Johnson's new system would work.

Click here to find a detailed rundown of the measures within each tier, and to see which tier your local area has been placed in.

You can also find out more via the government website here.

Topics: UK News, lockdown, News

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

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