PM Boris Johnson starts tier four in local areas

On Saturday 19th of December at 4pm Boris Johnson declared a tier four lockdown for London and South-East England while all other areas of the UK are between tier one and three. One of the strict guidelines of this lockdown is that tier 4 areas must stay at home and not mix with other households over Christmas.

Under the new tier 4 restrictions, non-essential shops, leisure and entertainment venues and nail salons must close with everyone within this area being told to ‘stay at home unless exempt” These exemptions include those who need to travel for education, childcare or to exercise – those who cannot work from home and still allowed to travel to work.

As the tier four decision isn’t being reviewed until the 30th of December, all those within London and South-East England must stay at home over Christmas and are not allowed to meet up with other households – by not following the guidelines set, you could risk receiving a £200 fine. In the rest of England, the window for multiple households to meet up has been reduced from between 23 and 27 to just Christmas Day. All other tiers have been told to follow their guidelines and not enter any tier other than their own.

A mother from Portsmouth, named Sarah Russell, was distraught over the news claiming: “I can’t see anyone for Christmas now. My daughter who lives only 20 minutes away is in a tier two while I’m in a tier four area. I’m not sure what I’m going to do – I’ve spent money on Christmas food for me and my loved ones and I can’t see them? I understand health comes first, but it was just so sudden”