Valley braced for tighter restrictions
ROSSENDALE is now under the nation’s toughest restrictions after being moved into Tier 4.
All 14 districts of Lancashire moved into the UK’s highest alert level ‘stay at home’ from midnight on Wednesday, it was confirmed by Health Secretary Matt Hancock just before we went to press. It comes as overall infection rates across the county continue to soar, despite dropping in other areas, including Rossendale.
Mr Hancock said: “The new [virus] variant means that three-quarters of the population are now going to be in Tier 4 and almost all of the country in Tiers 3 and 4. And I know that Tier 3 and 4 measures place a significant burden on people, and especially on businesses affected, but I am afraid it is absolutely necessary because of the number of cases that we’ve seen.”
In Tier 4, all nonessential shops must close, in addition to those already shut in Tier 3.
Residents in Tier 4 are being told to ‘stay at home’, much like the national lockdowns that we have seen previously this year.
If you live in Tier 4 you must not leave or be outside of your home or garden except where you have a ‘reasonable excuse’.