New Tier 4 restrictions for Cheshire West and Chester

Cheshire West and Chester will move into Tier 4 (Stay at Home) from the beginning of Thursday, 31 December 2020, after the Government reviewed the borough’s high infection rate of 266 cases per 100,000 population and decided tighter restrictions were needed to suppress the spread of COVID 19.

Three quarters of England’s population will now be in this category of restrictions.

This means that as the borough enters Tier 4:

• residents must stay at home, apart from limited exemptions set out in law such as medical care
• people must work from home if they can, but may travel to work if this is not possible, for example in the construction and manufacturing sectors
• non-essential retail, indoor gyms and leisure facilities, and personal care services must close
• people should not enter or leave Tier 4 areas, and Tier 4 residents must not stay overnight away from home
• you cannot meet other people indoors, unless you live with them or they are part of your support bubble.
• individuals can only meet one person from another household in an outdoor public space
• communal worship can continue to take place
• those in tier 4 areas will not be permitted to travel abroad apart from limited exceptions, such as for work purposes

Cllr Louise Gittins, Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council, said, “This latest news is clearly disappointing, although we have a duty to act in the best interests of our residents. We now must stay at home except for specific reasons such as work, outdoor exercise or medical care. We realise that as well as affecting all of us individually, many of our businesses will be hit hard. The announcement was not subject to prior notice or consultation with the Council, but we will be working with a range of local organisations and the government to get assistance to those that need it.

"We must follow these rules to slow the spread, protect the NHS and save lives.  As we roll out the vaccine, it would be an even greater tragedy if we don’t follow the rules and we lose more lives that in a few months could be saved. We will all need to pull together once again. We’ve brought the infection rate down before, and we can do it again.”

Read the full guidance on GOV.UK