Following a month-long national lockdown in our efforts to bring the virus under control and prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed,
we will be returning to regional tiered systems, with Northampton being in Tier 2 (High Alert). This allows businesses and people alike far more freedoms, but financial support continues.
Guidance on the tiered systems can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/local-restriction-tiers-what-you-need-to-know
The decisions in relation to which regions are designated a particular tier is based on public health recommendations informed by the following factors:
- case detection rate (in all age groups and, in particular, among 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 to 4 weeks out) NHS capacity – including admissions, general/acute/ICU bed occupancy, staff absences; and
- local context and exceptional circumstances such as a local but contained outbreak.
This will be next reviewed on 16th December, where I am hopeful that we will have, by then, brought cases down further.
Christmas is one of the most important times of the year for families to get together, and I am therefore pleased that throughout the period of 23rd December to 27th December, a person can form a ‘Christmas Bubble’ with two other households. Once a “bubble” has been chosen, it cannot be changed, although travelling between regions of different tier levels will be allowed.
Specifically, the guidance states the following:
“Between 23 and 27 December:
- you can form an exclusive ‘Christmas bubble’ composed of people from no more than three households
- you can only be in one Christmas bubble
- you cannot change your Christmas bubble
- you can travel between tiers and UK nations for the purposes of meeting your Christmas bubble
- you can only meet your Christmas bubble in private homes or in your garden, places of worship, or public outdoor spaces
- you can continue to meet people who are not in your Christmas bubble outside your home according to the rules in the tier where you are staying
- you cannot meet someone in a private dwelling who is not part of your household or Christmas bubble”
There is of course no obligation to meet with other households, despite being able to. Everyone should take personal responsibility in what they do.
Full guidance on the entitlements of Christmas Bubbles can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/making-a-christmas-bubble-with-friends-and-family/making-a-christmas-bubble-with-friends-and-family
During this difficult year, some have lost loved ones, and many others have not been able to see their friends and family as much as they would have liked to.
But as we approach Christmas it is my hope that people can enjoy the festive period and get the chance to see their loved ones. I have been struck by the togetherness and compassion of our community; the willingness to help and protect others has shone through. This compassion has spoken wonders about who we are as a community and as a nation and I am proud of everyone’s efforts. With the year coming to a close, and whilst the virus is still a part of our lives, there are positive things we can look forward to. Encouraging news about potential vaccines has given us all hope of a better time ahead.