Tiers of frustration over tougher new restrictions
Council leader ‘hopeful’ West Berks could quickly return to Tier 1 if infection rate continues to fall
PEOPLE in West Berkshire are now living under Tier 2 (high alert) restrictions after the second national coronavirus lockdown ended yesterday (Wednesday).
The Government placed the district in Tier 2 alongside other areas of Berkshire – except Slough, which is in Tier 3 (very high).
There was hope that West Berkshire would return to the medium Tier 1 because of its low number of infections and infection rate.
West Berkshire Council leader Lynne Doherty (Con, Speen) said the move into a higher tier would “come as a disappointment to many”, but said she was hopeful of returning to Tier 1 before Christmas.
The tiers are based on the prevalence of coronavirus in a region and introduce varying degrees of restrictions to help combat the virus.
Under Tier 2 there is no mixing of households indoors, apart from support bubbles, and a maximum of six people can meet outdoors.
Pubs and bars must close, unless they are operating as restaurants.
Hospitality venues can only serve alcohol with substantial meals, although confusion was caused this week over whether a Scotch egg constituted as one.
Last orders will be taken at 10pm, and venues must close by 11pm.
Shops, gyms and personal care services (such as hairdressers) can reopen.
Elite sporting events, live performances and large business events can take place with 50 per cent capacity, or 2,000 people outdoors/1,000 indoors, whichever is lower, and social distancing applies.
It is possible that West Berkshire could return to Tier 1 before Christmas as the tier system will be reviewed by December 16.
Mrs Doherty said: “I do think the national restrictions we’ve been living with have had an impact nationally and here in West Berkshire.
“The other indicators we look at – things like the positivity rate and the infection rate in the over-60s – are also on a downward trend.
“But what I have been told very clearly is there has to be a sustained trend.
“We’ve got a week’s worth of figures showing us moving in the right direction and I’m hopeful that continues to be the case, so by December 16 we’ve got a real strong argument [for moving to Tier 1].”
As of Tuesday, West Berkshire’s sevenday infection rate up to November 25 stood at 58.1 cases per 100,000 people, the lowest in Berkshire.
The rate has been falling since it peaked at 128.1 cases per 100,000 people on November 14.
The Government website states there is “an improving picture” across BerkRef: 49-1120L shire “with the exception of Slough and Reading”.
Mrs Doherty said: “I have been told this will be reviewed fortnightly, I have been told local considerations will be taken into account and I have been told they [the Government] will look at it from a local authority perspective and not just county-wide.
“I’m as hopeful as everybody else that we see a return to Tier 1, however, I appreciate because of the surrounding areas and the movement of residents between those areas, it’s not cut and dried.”
MPs voted on the new restrictions on Tuesday and Newbury MP Laura Farris voted in favour. Mrs Farris had previously said that “unless something extraordinary happened” there was “a very high likelihood” that the district would have returned to Tier 1 yesterday.
Speaking in yesterday’s Commons debate, Mrs Farris said: “I think that any decision the Government made tonight would have left them open to criticism.”
Mr Farris said that constituents had raised the district’s low rate and that the risk was now exaggerated, but added that this missed the fact that the rate of infection quadrupled between October 1 and November 1.
She said another point was that the cure is now worse than the disease, with pubs relying on the Christmas trade for their survival.
She said: “I will always fight for the livelihoods of those I represent, but I ask the House this – if the hospitals were overflowing, as they are in Naples, would people really be going out to meet their mates in the pub?
“If we got to January and had no choice but to enter another national lockdown, would that be better or worse? We know the answer.
“I prefer the Government’s approach of slowly taking our foot off the brake. They know that they need to sustain their moral authority, and they must do that by providing a clear road map between tiers and working with local directors of public health.
“When we are on the brink of getting a vaccine approved – we now know that it is effective – in my view it would be a catastrophe to fall at the final hurdle.”
During the pandemic, West Berkshire has recorded 1,678 confirmed cases and 144 people have died after testing positive for the virus.