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Leaked government plans reveal tough new ‘level three’ lockdown which would close pubs
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A new three-tier system with tougher restrictions could be imposed in England if cases aren’t brought under control.
The Mirror has reported that pubs could be closed and social contact outside of household groups could be restricted nationally or locally due to soaring infection rates.
According to the Guardian, the new ‘Covid-19 Proposed Social Distancing Framework’ is designed to simplify existing localised restrictions.
The leaked government plans are yet to be finalised by Downing Street officials.
The tiering system could work like this:
Red Alert – Level 3
- No social contact with anyone outside of your household
- Hospitality and leisure businesses closed
- Hobbies and amateur sports banned
Amber Alert – Level 2
- No social contact in private homes or gardens outside of household
- Avoid visiting care homes
- Make only essential journeys
Green Alert – Level 1
- Rule of six for social gatherings
- Face masks in shops, pubs and transport
- 10pm curfew on hospitality
- 15 people at weddings and 30 people at funerals
There are currently 50 different areas in England with overlapping restrictions with some legal and some guidance. The prime minister was unable to explain the different rules last week.
The BBC explained that Level 1 would be for areas with fewer than 100 cases per 100,000 people. Level 2 would be for areas with more than 100 cases per 100,00 people, and it is believed no areas would be immediately put into Level 3.
Level 3 would be for areas where Level 2 did not work in containing the virus, it will exclude schools, supermarkets and places of worship.
It has also been suggested that the government provides additional financial support, including £1 per head of population in Level 2 and £2ph in Level 3.
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This comes after the news that Manchester currently has the highest coronavirus infection rate in the whole of England.
On Friday, Public Health England revealed that 16,000 coronavirus cases were not added to official figures or to their contacts for the Test and Trace due to a ‘computer glitch’.
With the addition of these missed cases, figures from Public Health England show the rate of infection over the past seven days for the week ending October 1st in Manchester reached 495.6 cases per 100,000.
Andy Burnham has explained that ‘time is running out’ for the government to get things right ahead of the ‘most difficult winter we have ever experienced’.
He said the new approach ‘could improve public understanding of the restrictions in different areas’.
He said the new system should be based upon five key conditions:
- Clear thresholds for entry/exit from the different tiers
- The ability for local areas in tiers 2 and 3 to request local control of the Test and Trace system, with resources transferring from the national system
- Agreed levels of extra financial support for councils in tiers 2 and 3
- A package of support for local businesses affected by local restrictions
- A local furlough scheme where businesses are required to close
Jonathan Ashworth, Shadow health secretary, explained that ‘clear criteria to apply when an area goes into lockdown and how it escapes’ has long been called for by Labour.
Adding that: “In recent days, Boris Johnson got himself into an utter muddle over these rules, confirming that the ad hoc way in which decisions are made causes confusion.”
Commuters could be facing the steepest rise in the cost of train travel in more than a decade just months after prices were already increased.
It has been predicted today that train prices across England and Wales could rise by nearly 5% before the New Year.
The 2021 rise in prices was delayed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic when train travel was at an all-time low, however, tickets still saw a price rise of 2.6% in March.
Abhijit Tembhekar / Flickr
And this morning, the Retail Prices Index for July 2021 was confirmed as 3.8% by the Office for National Statistics, meaning passengers could see fares rise by 4.8% in 2022, which would be the largest hike since 2012.
This means that the cost of rail travel could increase twice within ten months, and would see a Manchester-Glasgow off-peak return rise by £6.30 to £94.90, according to Metro.
Though all hope isn’t yet gone – changes to the fares in 2022 are still yet to be confirmed.
Jon David Houghton / Wikimedia Commons
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “No decision has been made on national rail fares.
“The government is considering a variety of options and we will announce our decision in due course.”
This news has come as train travel in Manchester and beyond is on the rise – earlier this month, we reported that zero cases of Covid were found in Manchester Piccadilly Train Station, despite thousands of commuters using the station’s services as offices reopen.
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