Coronavirus Tier review: Luton to move into Tier 3 restrictions

Health Secretary Matt Hancock made the announcement in the House of Commons today, as the number of cases continues to grow in the south east.

He said: "As we enter the coldest months, we must be vigilant and keep this virus under control.

"I must report to the house that across the world cases are rising once more.

"Yesterday the Welsh government made the decision to tighten restrictions across the whole of Wales.

"Even in a normal year, this is the busiest time for the NHS.

"It is therefore necessary to apply Tier 3 measures across a much wider area of the east and south east of England, including Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Peterborough, the whole of Hertfordshire, Surrey with the exception of Waverley, Hastings and Rother on the Kent border of Sussex, and Portsmouth, Gosport and Havant in Hampshire.

"These changes will take effect from one minute past midnight on Saturday morning."

751 new cases have been confirmed in Luton over the past seven days, up by a rise of 123 (19.6%). The case rate per 100,000 residents is 314.5.

Luton Borough Council’s director of public health Lucy Hubber said: “While some further restrictions are coming in, the important messages from us remain hands-face-space, self-isolate when needed and to get a rapid test at one of our community testing centres which is helping us to stop asymptomatic spread in our community.

“We also need to continue to not mix with people we don’t live with. As hard as this is for many of us, it is the best way to slow the spread of this disease.

“Luton’s case rates remain very high and unfortunately we’ve recently seen some evidence of people breaking the rules that are put in place to protect us.

"We are in discussions with Bedfordshire Police about additional enforcement that can be done to crack down on those deliberately breaking the rules and putting other people at risk.”

As Luton enters tier 3, there are additional restrictions that everyone must follow. Some key points to note include:

> Meeting indoors; You must not socialise with anyone you do not live with or who is not in your support bubble in any indoor setting, whether at home or in a public place

> Meeting outdoors; You must not meet socially (in a private garden or at most outdoor public venues), with anybody you do not live with or who is in your support bubble. You can meet with people you do not live with (or do not have a support bubble with) in some outdoor public places, in a group of up to six people (including children).

> Everyone who can work from home should do so. Where people cannot do so, they should continue to travel to their workplace

> All pupils should continue to attend school and colleges, unless required to self-isolate.

Cllr Khtija Malik, portfolio holder for public health, said: “Luton has pulled together previously to drive down rates and we are determined to lead efforts to do the same again.

“The power to slow the spread is through everyone’s individual actions and I urge people to follow the guidance, pass it onto friends and family and together we can get some sort of normality back in our lives sooner."

The council has expressed some concerns about the effectiveness of moving into tier 3, and particularly the impact it will have on hospitality businesses.

Cllr Sian Timoney, deputy leaderr of the council, added: “Our local evidence shows us that hospitality is not a driver of transmission in Luton and we are worried that their forced closures will lead to more social mixing in private residences, where this often of a longer duration, less well-ventilated and less likely to be detected and challenged.

“Our local pubs, restaurants, and cafes, many who are already on their knees, have been fantastic all year and invested so much to make their venues Covid-safe. This will be another huge financial blow to them.

“We will be urging the government to take a look at what’s happening in the hospitality sector and put in place urgent additional measures to properly compensate businesses which have been so badly affected through no fault of their own."