This is when Derbyshire's lockdown rules will be reviewed, after county is placed under Tier 3 restrictions

Chesterfield, Bolsover and the rest of Derbyshire will be under the highest Tier 3 restrictions from next Wednesday, December 2, when the national lockdown ends.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

That means pubs and restaurants must close and households cannot mix indoors or in private gardens, though non-essential shops, gyms and hairdressers will be allowed to reopen.

But when is the earliest that could change, with Derbyshire potentially being moved into one of the two lower tiers, and how will the decision be made?

Everything you can and can't do in Chesterfield under new Tier 3 rules from December 2

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has the final say on which areas are placed into which tier of restrictions (Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)Prime Minister Boris Johnson has the final say on which areas are placed into which tier of restrictions (Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has the final say on which areas are placed into which tier of restrictions (Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Government has said it will review which areas are placed into which tiers every 14 days, meaning the first review will take place by Wednesday, December 16.

It says that places which continue to make progress in slowing the spread of the disease could be moved down a tier ahead of Christmas.

Should Derbyshire be downgraded to Tier 2, people from different households would be allowed to meet in gardens, and cafes and restaurants could reopen, along with pubs serving substantial meals.

It would also mean limited spectators being allowed at sports stadiums.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Future decisions will be made using the same criteria as the original assessment, which are:

Case detection rate (in all age groups and, in particular, amongst the over 60s)

How quickly case rates are rising or falling

Positivity in the general population

Pressure on the NHS – including current and projected (3-4 weeks out) NHS capacity – including admissions, general/acute/ICU bed occupancy, staff absences

Local context and exceptional circumstances such as a local but contained outbreak.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Government said that the tiers had been toughened and more areas had been placed into the higher tiers ‘in order to safeguard the gains made’ during the national lockdown.

Announcing its rationale for placing Derbyshire into Tier 3 lockdown, the Government said: “There has been improvement in this area, but case rates remain very high at 275 per 100,000, and in those over 60 it is 220 per 100,000. The pressure on the local NHS remains high.”

The latest weekly Covid-19 infection rate for Chesterfield, for the seven days to November 21, is 178.3 new cases per 100,000 people – down from 324.1 during the previous week.

In Bolsover, it has fallen from 427.0 to 301.6.

Tier 3 areas like Derbyshire will get access to rapid-turnaround later flow tests to help bring down infections and have the restrictions eased.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

They will also be offered support from NHS Test and Trace and the Armed Forces to deliver a six-week rapid community testing programme.

Announcing the new tiers, health secretary Matt Hancock said: “Thanks to the hard work and sacrifice made by people up and down the country, we are able to move out of national lockdown and into more targeted local, tiered restrictions.

“I know for those of you faced with Tier 3 restrictions this will be a particularly difficult time but I want to reassure you that we’ll be supporting your areas with mass community testing and extra funding.

“By following the rules together we can get out of these tough measures.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Joint Biosecurity Centre will work closely with Public Health England and the NHS to monitor the latest figures before advising the Chief Medical Officer and ministers.

Final decisions about tiers are made by the Prime Minister at the COVID Operations Committee.

Responding to the announcement, Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins said: “This is disastrous news and MPs have had no say in what happens in their area.

“Govt failure on testing and delayed lockdown has led us here and businesses & jobs must be better protected if we expect them to be there after Christmas.”

The different tiers do not affect the arrangements for Christmas, when the Government has said up to three households can form a bubble and meet at home between December 23 and 27.