UK: 'Tougher' three tiered system to be imposed after lockdown ends on December 2

After the lockdown in England ends on December 2, a ‘tougher’ three tiered system is expected to be imposed. While some measures are expected to stay the same, there will be more areas that can be placed in higher tiers to prevent the virus from spreading. The 10pm curfew on bars and restaurants is expected to be altered. 

Read: COVID-19: US Suffers One Death Per Minute, Record Number Of People Hospitalised

Three tiered plan to be reimposed

According to the reports by AP, Treasury chief Rishi Sunak said, “We’ll be going back into a tiered system, which is a far better way to tackle this on a localized approach”. He added, “And with regard to Christmas, I think as frustrating as it is for all of us, Christmas is not going to be normal this year”. Also, Johnson plans to extend opening hours until 11pm in a bid to get Britons into the Christmas spirit. The new plan will be aimed at providing a boost to the hospitality sector, which has been hard hit by the pandemic. Various newspaper reports suggested that rules could be relaxed during the Christmas period. However, the office then made it clear that it will not be normal this time, as restrictions are expected to stay.

Read: Boris Johnson To Scrap 10pm Pub Curfew In A Bid To Boost Hospitality Sector Amid Pandemic

Johnson’s office further confirmed plans to begin a nationwide vaccination program from next month. The government revealed that it has plans to increase mass testing to battle the coronavirus. Reports by AP suggest that confirmed cases of the virus have dropped in the UK, with a number of positive tests during the past seven days falling 13.8 per cent from the week before. According to a tally by the Johns Hopkins University, the UK has a total number of 1,512,045 cases with 55,024 fatalities. Meanwhile, earlier this week, Health Secretary Matt Hancock had said that the lockdown has been successful in slowing the spread of the virus, however, he stressed that people needed to keep following the rules to keep cases down.

Read: Pilot Scheme For Mass Virus Testing In Wales

Also Read: UK Leader To End England's National Lockdown On Dec. 2