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A total of 23.3 million people in England, 41.5 percent of the population, are in Level 3 of the government’s Covid-19 restrictions as of today, December 2.
On December 1, the current three-tier system passed the House of Commons by 291 votes to 78. Although it was a success, 55 Conservative rebels voted against the restrictions. Another 16 Conservatives abstained after sharing their concerns about the tougher tier system in the lead-up to the vote. This marks the most significant rebellion of Boris Johnson’s prime ministerial position.
Level 3 restrictions apply to areas including Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and Kent. Use our zip code tool to find out which level you belong to.
All Level 3 local authorities will be offered the support of the NHS Test and Trace and the Armed Forces to offer a six-week rapid community testing program, using rapid lateral flow tests that give results in one hour.
The hospitality and entertainment industry suffers the greatest impact under the revised restrictions for Level 3, with pubs and restaurants allowed to remain open for takeout service only.
The tier assignments will be reviewed every 14 days, and the government will closely monitor infection rates, particularly in those over 60.
As the Prime Minister shared in a briefing from Downing Street, each area has the potential to descend to a lower level, as he stated that “its level is not its destination.”
On December 1, in a final attempt to win over the rebel MPs, the Prime Minister also promised that the levels would be decided on a more “granular” basis after the review in mid-December.
Johnson’s statement was interrupted several times before ending, as MPs on both sides criticized areas with low infection rates being ranked high because of their regional focus.
The Prime Minister argued: “As we move forward, and I say this very sincerely, the Government will analyze how we can most accurately reflect the reality of what is happening on the ground, looking at the incidence of the disease, the human geography and spread. of the virus “.
However, despite hopes of “granularity” raising hopes among MPs, Sir Keir Starmer argued that it is highly unlikely “that anything will drastically change in the next two weeks.”
Will the Tier 3 restrictions change now that we have a vaccine?
Despite the promising approval of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, the Prime Minister shared that the tiered system remains essential to keep “the virus in check.”
At a press conference on Dec. 2, Johnson shared that it will still be “a few months before all the most vulnerable are protected,” so we must be cautious and not “get carried away by over-optimism.”
He added that “for now, you have to assume that qualification will be a very, very important part of our campaign against coronavirus.”
Here’s what the new Level 3 restrictions look like:
Read more: How each lockdown level will change under Covid’s renewed restrictions
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