Chris Whitty slaps down Boris’s suggestion areas might go down a tier
Boris Johnson has told the country ‘your tier is not your destiny’ as he urged the public to stick to new coronavirus rules once England’s lockdown ends from December 2.
After announcing a return to a slightly stricter three-tier system, the Prime Minister said ‘every area has the means of escape’, suggesting efforts to bring down the rate of infection would help lift communities out of the most restrictive levels.
Speaking at this evening’s Downing Street press conference, the PM said driving down cases will help open ‘a path for areas to move down the scale as soon as the situation improves’.
He said mass testing such as the successful pilot in Liverpool could help ‘accelerate the escape’ and pointed out how the city has brought down cases by two thirds, helping it move to tier two, having been on tier three before lockdown.
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But England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty took a much more cautious tone, suggesting places are unlikely to move down to the least restrictive first tier.
He warned second tier restrictions would be enough to ‘hold the line’ but would not reliably reduce cases, while the Government’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said attempts to hold back cases with tier one rules didn’t work.
Professor Whitty said settings within tiers may need ‘some adjustment, we hope downwards primarily’, implying small tweaks may be more likely than shifting between levels.
Jumping on what appeared to be contradiction of the PM’s remarks, Tory MP Mark Harper tweeted: ‘That rather suggests if you’re in Tier 2, it is your destiny – at least until the Spring.’
The new tier system, which is slightly stricter than the previous one, has been designed to bring the R rate – measuring the speed at which Covid-19 reproduces – below one, meaning the virus will be in decline.
With data suggesting the mildest tier one restrictions weren’t effective at bringing down the R-rate, only three places will be placed on this level when lockdown ends.
Responding to Johnson’s speech, Labour MP for Ashton-under-Lyne Angela Rayner tweeted: ‘Your Tier is not your destiny. I really wish @BorisJohnson would just stop it with this patronising guff.
‘My constituents have been in local lockdown since July and you still haven’t explained to them the actual criteria for going into Tier 3 and how we can leave Tier 3.’
Large swathes of the Midlands, North East and North West are in the most restrictive third tier, but the majority of people – including London – will be in tier two.
The Prime Minister said he knows this will bring ‘a great deal of heartache and frustration’ especially for the hospitality sector, which has been hit hard throughout the pandemic.
Johnson acknowledged that pubs, restaurants and hotels – ‘the soul of our communities’ – were bearing a ‘disproportionate share’ of the burden in controlling the virus in order to ensure it was safe for children to go to class.
He added: ‘If we’re going to keep schools open – as we must – then our options in bearing down on the disease are necessarily limited.’
Some 23.3 million people – 41.5% of the population of England – will be in the third tier while 32 million people – 57.3% – will be in tier two.
In Tier 1, the rule of six applies indoors and outdoors, people are urged to work from home if they can and pubs are limited to table service.
In Tier 2, restrictions include a ban on households mixing indoors, while pubs and restaurants will only be able to sell alcohol with a ‘substantial meal’.
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Tier 3 measures mean a ban on households mixing, except in limited circumstances such as in parks.
Bars and restaurants will be limited to takeaway or delivery services and people will be advised to avoid travelling outside their area. In all areas, shops and schools will remain open.
MPs will vote on the new system on December 1, the day before the tiers come into force, and Mr Johnson faces a revolt on the Tory benches over the measures.
The Government has promised to publish an impact assessment of the measures before MPs vote on them following protests that economic harm and the knock-on health impacts of restrictions are not being properly considered.
Leader of the Covid Recovery Group of lockdown sceptics and former minister Steve Baker said: ‘The authoritarianism at work today is truly appalling.
‘But is it necessary and proportionate to the threat from this disease?
Chairman of the powerful Tory backbench 1922 Committee and MP for Altrincham and Sale West Sir Graham Brady said: ‘This is a really heavy-handed approach.’
Former minister Tobias Ellwood said he will not support the Government in next week’s vote after his Bournemouth constituents were placed in the second tier.
Conservative West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said it is ‘very disappointing’ that the area has been placed in tier three, and he demanded more support for businesses forced to close.
The Confederation of British Industry’s UK policy director Matthew Fell said: ‘Some parts of the economy, such as retail, can begin to reopen and look towards a recovery. It gives our high streets a chance to rescue some of the vital festive trading period.
‘But for other businesses, the ongoing restrictions in Tiers 2 and 3 will leave their survival hanging by a thread. Hospitality will remain frozen.’
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