It was confirmed earlier today that Greater Manchester will be heading into Tier 3 when lockdown ends next week.

From next Wednesday, December 2nd, the whole region will be placed in the strictest tier, despite our infection rate reducing faster than any other part of the country.

So why is Greater Manchester being placed into Tier 3?

David Dixon / Geograph

This morning, as part of the announcement on which area will be placed in which tier, the government published a written ministerial statement.

These outline the rationale for why each region in England has been placed in the tier they’re in, including why the whole of Greater Manchester is in Tier 3.

The government said: “While there has been continued improvement in Greater Manchester, weekly case rates remain very high, especially amongst those aged over 60, at around 260 per 100,000 people.

“The pressure on the local NHS is decreasing in some areas but remains a concern; Manchester University hospital and Pennine Acute Trust remain under significant pressure.”

Earlier today Andy Burnham responded to the news that Greater Manchester is heading to Tier 3, saying that cities in the North will be ‘levelled down’ by the new tier system and that it is ‘the opposite of what the government has promised to do’.

The Mayor of Greater Manchester also said that he will be asking for the region to be moved into Tier 2 in a few weeks time if rates continue to fall like they have been.

According to Matt Hancock, there are five indicators for making a decision on which tier a region is in:

• case rates in all age groups
• cases in over 60s
• rate at which cases are rising or falling
• positivity rate
• local pressures on NHS

The tiers are set to be reviewed on Wednesday December 16th, so there is still a chance Greater Manchester could be in Tier 2 in the run up to Christmas.

The new rules across all tiers include:

• Uniform set of rules, there will be no negotiations by different regions
• Everyone should work from home if they can
• Shops and personal care services can open
• Early years settings, schools, colleges and universities remain open
• Registered childcare, other supervised activities for children and childcare bubbles allowed
• Indoor leisure – gyms and swimming – can open
• Elite sport, under-18 sport and disabled sport can continue
• Police will get new powers to close down premises breaking the rules

What Greater Manchester can expect in Tier 3:

• No mixing of households indoors or most outdoor places – rule of six in outdoor spaces such as parks and sports courts
• Hospitality venues closed, except for takeaway, drive-through or delivery
• Indoor entertainment venues closed
• Avoid travelling outside the area other than where necessary
• No overnight stays outside local area, unless necessary for work, education or similar reasons
• Accommodation closed (with limited exceptions such as work purposes)
• Places of worship open but people cannot interact with anyone outside their household or support bubble
• Weddings, civil partnerships and wakes can have 15 guests – but no wedding receptions allowed
• Funerals can have 30 guests
• Exercise classes and organised adult sport can take place outdoors, but avoid higher-risk contact activity
• Group exercise and sports indoors should not take place, unless with household/bubble
• Elite sporting events, live performances and large business events banned but drive-in events permitted.

Tier 1 Rules:

• Households can mix inside and outside, but the rule of six applies
• Bars, pubs and restaurants must be table service only, last orders at 10pm, closing by 11pm
• Entertainment can reopen
• Avoid travel into Tier 3 areas
• Overnight stays permitted with your household/bubble, or up to six people from different households
• All accommodation can reopen
• Places of worship can reopen but more than six people from different households cannot interact
• Weddings, civil partnerships and wakes can have 15 guests
• Funerals can have 30 guests
• Exercise classes and organised adult sport can take place outdoors, but rule of six indoors
• Elite sporting events, live performances and large business events can take place with 50% capacity, or 4,000 people outdoors/1,000 indoors (whichever is lower) – social distancing applies

Tier 2 Rules:

• No mixing of households indoors apart from support bubbles – rule of six outdoors
• Pubs and bars must close unless operating as restaurants, and hospitality venues can only serve alcohol with substantial meals
• Last orders at 10pm, close by 11pm
• Reduce the numbers of journeys made and avoid travel into Tier 3 areas
• Overnight stays permitted with your household or support bubble
• Accommodation open
• Places of worship open but people cannot interact with anyone outside their household or support bubble
• Weddings, civil partnerships and wakes can have 15 guests
• Funerals can have 30 guests
• Exercise classes and organised adult sport can take place outdoors, but not indoors if there is any interaction between different households
• Elite sporting events, live performances and large business events can take place with 50% capacity, or 2,000 people outdoors/1,000 indoors (whichever is lower) – social distancing applies