UK Imposes Tier Three Rules in Manchester Despite Local Disagreement

By Staff, Agencies

The UK government in Westminster will impose tier three restrictions on Greater Manchester from Friday despite opposition from local leaders, who say the financial support for businesses that will be forced to close is inadequate.

Tier three is the highest alert level and means tighter restrictions on household mixing, as well as the closure of pubs that do not serve meals.

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said the government had not offered enough money to “protect the poorest people in our communities.”

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said at a televised briefing today that the region would receive £22 million in extra financial support. Burnham and other local leaders originally proposed a £90 million plan, which they reduced to a request for £65 million during talks with Johnson today.

The UK government also signaled today [Tuesday] that Sheffield and Leeds could be the next areas facing tier three rules, as cases remain high in south and west Yorkshire. If this goes ahead, one third of the UK population could be living under stricter rules within days, as Wales is set to enter a nation-wide lockdown on Friday.

Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon said at a briefing today that she expects to be able to announce plans for a tiered system of coronavirus restrictions in Scotland later this week.

Thousands of people living in Halton in the Liverpool city region, which is currently under tier three rules, have signed a petition asking for their area to be moved out of tier three. The number of cases in Halton fell from 399.5 to 338.5 per 100,000 people over the week leading up to 15 October.

Tier three restrictions were first introduced in the Liverpool city region on 14 October, and are also in force in Lancashire and will soon be in Greater Manchester too.

London mayor Sadiq Khan today called for a 10 pm curfew on pubs and restaurants in the city to end, now that London is under tier two coronavirus restrictions.

“We saw the worrying consequences of increased social mixing on the streets and on public transport in the capital around 10 pm immediately after its introduction,” Khan said in a statement.

“Now London and other parts of the country have moved into tier two and higher restrictions, which prohibit household mixing, the current 10 pm curfew policy makes even less sense and should be scrapped,” he added.

Under tier two rules, people are not allowed to mix with people from other households indoors, but are allowed to visit pubs or restaurants with members of their own household or support bubble.

The UK recorded 21,331 coronavirus cases Tuesday, up from 18,804 Monday, according to official figures. There were also 241 deaths from COVID-19 – the highest daily figure recorded since 258 deaths were recorded on 5 June.

Deputy chief medical officer for England, Jonathan van Tam, said during a press briefing on Tuesday that he expects the upwards trend in deaths to continue.