What the changes will mean for you
WHO IS IN TIER 4?
THE new Tier 4 rules apply in London and areas of the South East that were in Tier 3: Kent, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Surrey (excluding Waverley), Gosport, Havant, Portsmouth, Rother and Hastings.
It also includes areas of East England: Bedford, Central Bedford, Milton Keynes, Luton, Peterborough, Hertfordshire, Essex (excluding Colchester, Uttlesford and Tendring).
WHAT’S ALLOWED IN TIER 4?
PEOPLE should not mix with anyone outside their own household – even on Christmas Day. But support bubbles will continue unaffected. There are also exemptions for separated parents and their children.
You should not enter or leave a Tier 4 area. People in these areas are not allowed to stay overnight away from home.
Individuals can only meet one person from another household in an outdoor public space.
It is not allowed to join a Christmas Day bubble with a household in a lower tier area.
Hairdressers, “non-essential” shops, indoor gyms and leisure facilities are closed.
You should work from home if you can. But you may travel to work if this is not possible, for example if you have a job in construction or manufacturing.
People in Tier 4 cannot travel abroad, except for work. But communal worship is allowed.
WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE REST OF ENGLAND?
PLANS to allow people in Tiers 1-3 to form Christmas bubbles from December 23 to 27 have been ditched. The gatherings can now take place on Christmas Day only.
WHAT ABOUT SCOTLAND?
THERE’S a travel ban between Scotland and the rest of the UK. The easing of restrictions of indoor household mixing will only apply on Christmas Day and all of Scotland will be placed into Level 4 restrictions from Boxing Day.
AND WALES?
WALES is under lockdown with people told to stay at home. Christmas Day is the only day on which two households can come together to form a bubble. Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford said: “Christmas will come again. But lives which are lost, are lost for ever.”
IS ANYONE LEFT IN TIER 1?
YES, Herefordshire, Isle of Wight, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The rule of six applies both indoors and outdoors. Christmas Day bubbles can take place but cannot include anyone in Tier 4.
WHAT IS THE SITUATION IN NORTHERN IRELAND?
A Six-week lockdown will come into effect from Boxing Day. In the first week no indoor or outdoor gatherings will be allowed between 8pm and 6am. The rule for to three households to come together between December 23 and 27 has not been scrapped, but people are urged to do this only if “absolutely necessary”.