It is 'necessary' to put Northamptonshire into Tier Two under Covid Winter Plan, says Health Secretary

Health Secretary Matt Hancock says it is "necessary" to put Northamptonshire into Tier Two as part of the Government's Covid Winter Plan.

Public Health officials and council leaders were among many across the country hoping to remain in the lower tier, Tier One, when the national lockdown ends next week.

But extra restrictions in the high risk category, confirmed today, mean households will still not be allowed to mix indoors while pubs can only serve alcohol as part of a "substantial meal."

Neighbouring counties of Warwickshire and Leicestershire are both in Tier Three — very high risk.

Mr Hancock told the House of Commons that the majority of England will be in Tier Two, but added: "These decisions are not easy but they are necessary.

"As tempting as it may be we cannot just flick a switch and return life to normal or we would see the NHS would be overwhelmed again with all that could entail.

"We've looked not just at geographical areas but also human factors that influence how the virus spreads like travel patterns and situation in neighbouring areas..

"To keep people save and keep the gains that are being made more poeple will be in the top two tiers.

"I know many other areas would want to be in Tier One. I hope that so many other parts of the country will get to Tier One soon, the sooner people stick to the rules, the quicker that will happen."

These measures will be reviewed on December 16 while a five-day Christmas break is planned to allow up to three households to mix in a bubble between December 23 and December 27.

Areas in Tier Three are:

Greater Manchester

Birmingham and Black Country

Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

Leeds

Hull

City of Wolverhampton

Kent and Medway

South Yorkshire

Hartlepool

Middlesbrough

Stockton-on-Tees

Redcar and Cleveland

Darlington

Sunderland

South Tyneside

Gateshead

North Tyneside

County Durham

Northumberland

Lancashire

Blackpool

Blackburn with Darwen

The Humber

West Yorkshire

Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent

Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull

Derby and Derbyshire

Nottingham and Nottinghamshire

Leicester and Leicestershire

Lincolnshire

Slough (remainder of Berkshire is tier 2: High alert)

Bristol

South Gloucestershire

North Somerset

Areas in Tier Two:

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Liverpool City Region

London

Warrington and Cheshire

Cumbria

York and North Yorkshire

Northamptonshire

Rutland

Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes

Herefordshire

Worcestershire

Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin

Essex, Thurrock and Southend on Sea

Norfolk

Suffolk

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton

Surrey

Buckinghamshire

Oxfordshire

Reading, Wokingham, Bracknell Forest, Windsor and Maidenhead, West Berkshire

Dorset, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset

Gloucestershire

Wiltshire and Swindon

Devon

Two areas are in Tier One:

Isle of Wight

Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly

The tiered system has been strengthened sinc