Which tier after lockdown?

BlueBelle

I was tier1 now tier2 and it’s horrible because there is still nothing going on here but fifty miles away in ‘our area’ there is so we re now all lumped together
The bit that annoys me is I now cannot have a restaurant meal with two of my friends and as all three of us live alone we were looking forward to a meal together before Christmas
But it’s ok to be with 14 others over Christmas makes no sense whatsoever

I think you can have a 'business meeting' in a restaurant, Bluebelle!

Staying in tier 3 despite our numbers dropping. We don’t know if we can use the S/c cottage we have booked for Christmas as they are in Tier 3 as well so we won’t know until 17th if we can go. Plan b is in place !!
I just feel for the restaurants, pubs, cafes, hotels which cannot open and I suspect many will go under. We have to be pragmatic and get on with it but it doesn’t help when people refuse to wear masks!!

Ellianne

^I live in Torbay, Devon which is in Tier 2, but Cornwall is on Tier 1, which will be interesting for folk who need to cross the Tamar for any reason.^
That's ok Ashcombe, you could be down in Looe or Polperro for lunch with 5 friends within an hour and then drive back after!
I can see the Cornish putting up barricades!

No - you can't do that! If you're in Tier 2 the restrictions apply to you wherever you travel to, regardless of what your mates in Tier 1 can do.

From what I understand Swale has 2 prisons for young offenders with over 250 inmates testing positive which doesn’t help the area at all. Not sure if prisoners are still allowed visitors or not!

We're in the Rural Lancashire with low numbers of cases which are dropping quickly but still in Tier 3 because we are lumped with the East of the County. I am very annoyed and feel like a well behaved child in a class put in detention because some class members are misbehaving!

West Yorkshire, tier 3 as expected. I’m not going to waste energy getting riled about it. So many factors are taken into consideration when these decisions are made, as others have explained earlier. Yes, my specific little area might have a low number of cases, but what difference will that make if we need to go to one of our city hospitals and all beds are taken?

We’re aware more than ever of the need to support our businesses whatever they’re doing to get through. Takeaways from our lovely local as we can’t eat there now, buying from our market traders, looking closer to home for Christmas presents, perhaps to locals who have started making and selling things from home. And sticking to the rules.

Maggiemaybe

West Yorkshire, tier 3 as expected. I’m not going to waste energy getting riled about it. So many factors are taken into consideration when these decisions are made, as others have explained earlier. Yes, my specific little area might have a low number of cases, but what difference will that make if we need to go to one of our city hospitals and all beds are taken?

We’re aware more than ever of the need to support our businesses whatever they’re doing to get through. Takeaways from our lovely local as we can’t eat there now, buying from our market traders, looking closer to home for Christmas presents, perhaps to locals who have started making and selling things from home. And sticking to the rules.

I agree. It’s a pity that so many posts on here are just addressing the issue of infection numbers and have taken no notice of the information given about the various factors that have to be balanced in order to make a decision. Of course there will be some rough justice given patterns of population distribution and distribution.

Just on the verge of an argument here

we are in tier 2

this is what the Gov.uk site says

In tier 2:

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

so tell me someone,, what is the point of restuarants etc being open if only those already living together or support can use them?

am I really being thick?

You can still go out and enjoy a meal etc with your other half, or in your bubble. It may not be quite as much fun as going out with a group of friends, but it’s better than nothing.

Tier 3 as we were pre lockdown. I think rather than extending lockdown the government have brought in the stricter tier system to try and get the R rate as low as possible before the rises the Christmas mixing will cause. After the 5 days I think we’ll be back to, perhaps, even more tier 3 areas

Here in Leicester we have never been out of restrictions. When we come out of lock down, we go into Tier 3 as expected. Our numbers are still very high.

Makes no difference to DH and I, anyway, as we have lived under self-imposed house arrest since March. As far as our family is concerned, our DD has had Covid, as has BiL and two of his sons. All are still suffering from the after effects. The sister of BiL's late wife is on a ventilator in a coma. At the moment, things don't seem to be getting any better.

The virus has no respect for county boundaries so we just have to be sensible and follow the rules.

Tier 2 in East Anglia. I'm not surprised.

Tier 2 here in Somerset. Low numbers where we live but needs must and we just all have to get on with it. Roll on the vaccine and spring!!

Tier 3, Greater Manchester. With the exception of a couple of weeks we've been under some sort of severe lockdown since March. I'm heartily fed up of it.
How can gyms be kept open but fitness classes seen as unsafe? You can't have a family group fitness class as you need 15 to 20 people to make it financially viable. For me, and many older people, mainly women, Pilates is essential to keep pain and stiffness at bay from Arthritis. I think the Government just see classes as catering for mainly female, older participants, a group they don't care about and feel free to ignore.

Criteria to decide tiers, posted by Susiewoozie earlier -
^case detection rates in all age groups
case detection rates in the over 60s
the rate at which cases are rising or falling
positivity rate (the number of positive cases detected as a percentage of tests taken)
pressure on the NHS^

So it doesn’t matter what is happening in local villages but what is happening in the towns and cities where people work and in the local hospital.
Thanks Suziewoozie very helpful explanation, puts it in to perspective.

Susieq62
I have sent you a PM.

With many people now feeling hard done by the tiers, maybe, just maybe, people will actually start to listen to the guidance and act accordingly. It does now look like they are getting fed up.

polnan

Just on the verge of an argument here

we are in tier 2

this is what the Gov.uk site says

In tier 2:

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

so tell me someone,, what is the point of restuarants etc being open if only those already living together or support can use them?

am I really being thick?

That was the case with Tier 2 before the latest lockdown. Yes, it means you can't socialise with people from another household inside a restaurant. You can only eat with a live-in partner or family.

Ellianne

With many people now feeling hard done by the tiers, maybe, just maybe, people will actually start to listen to the guidance and act accordingly. It does now look like they are getting fed up.

It could be that they're fed up and act even more recklessly because they don't see the point and haven't listened to some of the nonsense floating about.

Tier 3 in west/York's not surprised our numbers are not going down despite us being instruct measures throughout .

Tier 3 in Bradford. Not at all unexpected as we were about to go into it just before the second lockdown. Step daughter is in tier 2 in Harrogate so have to convince her she can't visit or stay with us.

Tier 3 here in North Somerset too which seems strange when London is in tier 2. I think our infection rate is being lumped in with Bristol (which will probably drop a lot when the students go home). However, nothing to do but accept it and, to be honest, it really won'tbother us too much. We have got a little routine going that includes a walk each day and I have taken up writing short stories for womens' mags.

The R number for the UK is below 1 for the first time since August. The latest estimate of the growth rate of the virus has also fallen, to between -2% and 0%, which indicates that the number of new infections each day is coming down.
. . . the impact of the second lockdown in England, which began on 5 November, cannot be fully evaluated yet, and adds that R "may be below 1 for all regions already" in England.
Let's keep it that way!

Tier 3 in Northumberland but as suzie has already mentioned many factors have to be considered. So although I must admit to being a little disappointed it’s all for the good of everyone.