‘Traffic light’ system to halt confusion over local rules

A “TRAFFIC light” system to simplify the different regional lockdowns across England is expected to be announced by the Health Secretary next week.

The three-tiered approach divides the country into different areas based on local infection rates, which will dictate the severity of local lockdowns.

The traffic light system will work alongside the new NHS Test and Trace app, with which people scan a QR code to enter restaurants and bars.

The app will send a message to the user about the lockdown conditions that apply to their specific area.

The three-tier plan was signed off by ministers at a meeting of the Covid committee two weeks ago and is set to be unveiled by Matt Hancock after the Tory party conference next week.

It is intended to offer a simple and transparent way for people to know the restrictions in their local areas.

Robert Jenrick, the Communities Secretary, said: “The national guidelines are simple to understand now – washing your hands, wearing a mask, staying apart, the rule of six.

“We have also adopted local restrictions and I appreciate that that can seem confusing, particularly if you are not … able to look up the particular guidelines for your own locality.

Mr Jenrick added: “The idea behind a more tiered approach would be that there is a national playbook and you are able to move between one of these three tiers as the number of cases in a particular area grows.

“That will create a degree of consistency and make it easier for people to familiarise themselves with the rules.”

A Whitehall source said that while the restrictions for each band would be predetermined, the triggers for putting regions into the different bands would be less straightforward.

One source said: “It won’t simply be a case of putting an area into the amber or red zone if their infection rate per 100,000 people goes above a certain number. If, for instance, you are doing a lot more testing in a certain area you will find a lot more cases.

“The trigger … will be a combination of the speed at which the spread is accelerating, the amount of testing being done, the positivity rate and so on. That is something that is still being worked on.”