PARTS OF ENGLAND including the Greater London area have today entered Tier 3 restrictions, the highest level of Covid-19 measures in the country.
Parts of Essex and Hertfordshire have also moved under the restrictions. In Tier 3, bars, pubs, cafes and restaurants can operate as takeaway-only and groups of up to six can only meet in outdoor public spaces.
People are not allowed to meet socially indoors with anybody they do not live with or have a support bubble with.
Retail and personal care – such as hairdressers and beauty salons – are able to remain open in all tiers.
Under Tier 3, indoor entertainment venues – such as bowling alleys, casinos, cinemas, theatres and concert halls – have to close.
Before the most recently announced changes 99% of the population in England was already living under Tiers 2 and 3.
People in Tier 3 areas are told to avoid travelling to other parts of the UK, including for overnight stays, unless it is for work, education, health or care requirements.
Meanwhile, Germany has also brought in new measures.
The country registered a record number of deaths associated with Covid-19 today on the first day of the partial lockdown restrictions aimed to cope with a recent surge in infections.
952 people with Covid-19 have died in the previous 24 hours in Germany, according to the Robert Koch Institute disease control centre.
It said 27,728 new coronavirus cases were registered, a figure close to the daily record of nearly 30,000 infections reported last Friday.
Non-essential shops and schools are now closed in a bid to halt an “exponential growth” in infections.
The restrictions will apply until 10 January, with companies also urged to allow employees to work from home or to offer extended company holiday.
The new measures were agreed by Chancellor Angela Merkel with regional leaders of Germany’s 16 states on Sunday.
The country had coped relatively well with the first wave in the spring but it has struggled to contain a resurgence in recent months.
The previous daily record for deaths was also reached on Friday, when almost 600 people were reported to have died as the number of those in intensive care in the country reached alarming levels.
83% of intensive care beds in hospitals were occupied today, the Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (DIVI) said.
With reporting by Press Association and AFP
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say