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A top conservative has fueled fears that England’s tiered lockdown system will tighten just as millions are trying to plan for Christmas.
Cabinet Minister Robert Jenrick confirmed that officials are reconsidering the system before it gets back to work when the shutdown ends in December.
He cautioned that things like the geographic regions covered and exactly what each tier implies could change from the previous system.
And he dropped a strong hint that the Level 3 measures could be tightened up than before, saying that the Level 3 rules were previously “just a baseline.”
The Communities Secretary’s comments come hours after a government expert warned that the levels may need to be strengthened.
(Image: Getty Images)
Under the old system, Level 1 imposed the rule of six in meetings and forced pubs and restaurants to close at 10pm.
Level 2 had those rules, but it also prohibited all indoor social gatherings.
Level 3 banned all social gatherings, both indoors and outdoors, except in public spaces, and told people not to leave the area.
But Susan Hopkins, England’s Public Health Adviser on Covid-19, said last night that Level 1 had shown “very little effect.”
He said Level 3 “had the effect of reducing the number of cases in the Northwest,” but Level 2 only worked in some areas.
(Image: REUTERS)
He added: “I think that when we analyze what levels may exist in the future, we will have to think about strengthening them so that we can get through the winter months until the vaccine is available to everyone.”
Jenrick told BBC Breakfast that no decisions had been made on the future tiering system, but would happen “in the next week.”
But hinting that they could become stricter, he said ministers are “reviewing the levels” and “considering what those levels are, what are the sensible measures that should be part of them, and in what kinds of geographies we should think about putting the country in . “
He added: “We will be seeing if the measures we had in previous levels were effective.”
(Image: Jeff Overs / BBC / PA Wire)
Mr. Jenrick noted that many Level 3 areas previously added “bonus” measures on top, such as closing gambling shops or putting a license curfew.
Hinting that such measures could become mandatory in all areas of Level 3, he said: “At the new levels, we would like more coherence.
“And we will have to look at the evidence to see which of those measures had the most impact on the virus.”
When asked if there could be a more difficult level than Level 3, he replied: “We have not reached a conclusion, we have not made a decision about it.
“But the Level 3 that we had before was just considered a baseline, and then we asked local areas if they would be willing to go further and some did.”
Reports suggest that ministers still hope to temporarily relax restrictions on Christmas to allow families to reunite.
SAGE newspapers have suggested that ministers can afford to relax the rules temporarily, but only if Covid-19 is already “low and controlled.”
When asked by LBC if he would spend a Christmas together with his extended family, Mr. Jenrick replied, “I hope so.”
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