Liverpool tipped for easing post-lockdown to Tier 2

Nicola Sturgeon voices concern three-household rule could ‘effectively become six households’

LIVERPOOL is expected to become the first area to escape from the highest of the Government’s three coronavirus tiers when Boris Johnson announces new restrictions today.

Government sources suggested that “at least one” area that had been in Tier 3 before the current lockdown was likely to drop down to Tier 2 when the system returns on Dec 2. The Prime Minister will today make it clear that areas in higher tiers will be able to move down the scale before Christmas if they follow the rules.

Liverpool is likely to be held up as a success story after infection rates have decreased to 162 per 100,000 compared with 700 five weeks ago, following the introduction of mass testing in the city. London is also likely to be in Tier 2.

It emerged yesterday that economic forecasts prepared by the Treasury watchdog, the Office f or Budget Responsibility, assume that “high to medium” restrictions, equating to Tiers 2 and 3, would remain in place until the middle of 2021. The Prime Minister did not agree with the “gloomy” prediction, suggesting that vaccines would get the country out of restrictions before then.

Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, will today announce which area is going to be in which tier following a meeting last night of the Cabinet’s Covid Operations subcommittee, which examined the latest data.

The vast majority of the country is expected to be placed in Tiers 2 and 3, but Whitehall sources said “some” areas would be in Tier 1. A full formal review of every geographical location will be carried out by Dec 16, with any changes announced on Dec 17.

BORIS JOHNSON’S “four nations” plan for easing Covid-19 restrictions over Christmas has fractured within 24 hours, after it emerged Scots will face harsher rules over the festive period than people in England.

Nicola Sturgeon said that guidelines would be i ssued today that would “tighten” rules north of the border, and warned that she believed parts of the UK Government’s plan for allowing families to celebrate together may be “going too far”.

She expressed concern about Mr Johnson’s policy of treating people in support bubbles as one household for the purposes of five days of looser rules, saying in practice this could allow up to six households to meet indoors.

She also confirmed that a policy of allowing people travelling to or from Northern Ireland an extra two days for travel would not be adopted for those going to the Scottish islands.

Several experts have raised concern that the plan for relaxing rules between Dec 23 and 27, which will see up to three households able to mix indoors, will lead to an explosion of virus cases and cause unnecessary deaths.

Ms Sturgeon said: “Three households [in England], potentially, depending on how they draw the guidance, could effectively become six households.

“I think that would be going too far and it would not be something I would be comfortable with in Scotland.”

Scotland has slightly different rules f or f orming “bubbles”, known as extended households north of the border, which allow one person who lives alone or with children under the age of 18 to join another household.

While Ms Sturgeon said a final decision had not yet been taken, she was pessimistic about the prospects of an extended household being counted as one household for the purposes of the new Christmas regime in Scotland.

She said: “We are considering whether that [an extended household] will be the definition of household or not. What we don’t want to do is inadvertently allow a three-household limit to become more than that.

“The Scottish Government will be very careful not to turn this into some kind of licence for us all to forget the difficulty that we are facing and the risks that Covid presents. So what was announced [on Tuesday] should be seen very much as outer limits.”

The guidelines issued in Scotland are also likely to include advice on how to behave over Christmas, including keeping windows open if others are visiting during the Scottish winter.

Jason Leitch, Scotland’s National Clinical Director, warned against using shared serving spoons, and Ms Sturgeon suggested that visitors should bring their own crockery for meals.

A string of academics and virus experts have spoken out against the plan to allow people to meet up indoors.

Prof Andrew Hayward, director of the UCL Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, and a member of the Sage committee, told the BBC allowing families to meet up over Christmas amounted to “throwing fuel on the Covid fire”.

He said it would “definitely lead to increase[d] transmission and likely lead to a third wave of infections with hospitals being overrun, and more unnecessary deaths.”