Greater Manchester to enter tier 3 lockdown

Greater Manchester is to move to the highest level of Covid-19 restrictions - transitioning from ‘high’ alert to ‘very high’ alert - as the region continues to experience a spike in cases.

Under the new tier 3 restrictions, which will come into effect at midnight on Friday 23 October, people “must not socialise with anybody they do not live with, or have formed a support bubble with, in any indoor setting or in any private garden or at most outdoor hospitality venues and ticketed events”.

Measures also include the closure of pubs and bars not serving substantial meals.

Greater Manchester infection rates are among the highest in the country. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), as of 12 October, the weekly average for new cases was 1,591, an increase of 302 percent in one month since 12 September.

The restrictions in Greater Manchester will be reviewed by at least 11 November.

It follows discussions between local leaders and the government which concluded without an agreement.

Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council, said it is “deeply disappointing and frustrating” that the government unilaterally imposed Tier 3 restrictions in the region without the agreement of local leaders.

“Our stance throughout these negotiations has been that while we recognise the need to get Covid-19 cases down, this has to factor in measures to protect the most vulnerable, and balanced with doing all we can to protect the livelihoods of those who will be put out of work through pubs, bars and other licensed premises being forced to close,” Leese said.

“It simply isn't equitable to treat one harm - Covid-19 infections - by harming thousands of people in the hospitality sector, many of them on minimum wage and driving them into poverty.

“We put forward a carefully costed and evidenced package of proposals which we felt would have been enough to enable us to address all these issues but in the end the government rejected them, having failed to come up with any constructive alternatives.”

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