England faces Tier Four as infections soar

SHOPS could be shut and commuters ordered to work from home under a strict Tier Four regime in England.

The plans are being drawn up as a way of avoiding a third lockdown south of the Border – but would contain curbs as tough as those seen in previous shutdowns.

Officials are alarmed by the deadly surge in cases since the second lockdown ended over a fortnight ago. Scientific advisers floated the idea of a fourth tier last month, only for it to be rejected by ministers.

However, a Government source said the proposal was back on the table. ‘The Department of Health is pulling out the folder marked Tier Four,’ the insider said. ‘We are not there yet but we are clearly in a worrying situation. It probably starts with closing non-essential retail and strengthening the work from home message.

‘But there are lots of things you could add to that – it’s still early days.’

A further 28,507 Covid-19 cases were reported yesterday – the second highest total yet – along with 489 deaths, up from 424 a week earlier.

During a visit to Bolton yesterday, Boris Johnson was asked whether England would have to follow the lead of Wales and Northern Ireland, which have announced plans for lockdowns later this month. He replied: ‘We’re hoping very much that we will be able to avoid anything like that. But the reality is that the rates of infection have increased very much in the last few weeks.’

Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford, who has ordered a third shutdown from December 28, yesterday suggested England was almost certain to follow.

Katherine Henderson, of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, urged ministers to do ‘whatever it takes to get the situation firmly under control so we can vaccinate people and then move forward’.

Any attempt to impose a third lockdown will spark a Tory backlash. Thirty-four MPs voted against the second lockdown, while 54 voted against the tiers plan.

Imperial College epidemiologist Neil Ferguson, whose modelling underpins Government decisions, said the last lockdown failed to halt the rise in cases.

He told Radio 4’s World at One: ‘ In the East of England, case numbers were rising during the last lockdown, so there may be the need for additional controls even beyond those in place then.’

Professor John Edmunds, a member of the Sage scientific advisory group, said: ‘ It doesn’t look like the tier system is holding the epidemic wave back, unfortunately. I think we are going to have to look at these measures and perhaps tighten them up.’