Bedfordshire to remain in Tier 4 restrictions as most of England joins same category

Health Secretary Matt Hancock made the announcement this afternoon (Wednesday) in the House of Commons.

Yesterday (Tuesday) saw 53,135 new coronavirus cases confirmed in the UK, with many attributed to a new strain of the virus. 414 deaths were also recorded.

Describing "the difficult decisions" that had to be made, Mr Hancock said all remaining parts of the South East, Midlands and North East of England, as well as parts of the North West, will enter Tier 4 from one minute past midnight.

The mass roll-out of the Oxford/Astra vaccine is also due to begin on Monday, January 4.

Mr Hancock said: "From the beginning we focused on the vaccine as a way out of this pandemic and now it is a reality."

Under Tier 4 restrictions, the rules remain as follows:

> Non-essential shops, gyms, cinemas, hairdressers and bowling alleys will be forced to close for two weeks;

> People will be restricted to meeting one other person from another household in an outdoor public space;

> Under the new “stay at home” order, people in Tier 4 will be told they should not stay away from home overnight;

> People should not to travel into a tier four area, though support bubbles will remain unaffected as do the exemptions for separated parents and their children.