The Government has just confirmed that Bristol will be going into the highest level of restrictions, Tier 3 “Very High Alert”, from Weds 2nd December. Over 98% of people living in England will be facing a higher level of restrictions than before the lockdown.

Bristol’s placement is not too unsurprising given Bristol’s recent high Covid-19 rate, but I appreciate this will be disappointing to many people. Unlike the last Tier system, these restrictions are being imposed by the Government without consultation with local leaders, with a flat-rate payment of £4 per head of population per month in Tier 3 areas, and £2 per head in Tier 2.

The Health Secretary will be reviewing the tiers every fortnight, with the next review due 16th December. If we continue the downwards trend in cases we may be able to come down a tier, so, although I appreciate how big an ask this is, I would urge everyone to follow the guidance. With vaccines due to be rolled out soon, we are nearly there, so let’s not throw away all the progress we have made when we are so close to the finishing line!

Further details of local restrictions can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/…/full-list-of-local-restriction…