WHEN the current England-wide lockdown ends on December 2, the country is due to be placed back into a system of regional tiered restrictions – but which tier will Basingstoke be in?
The government has announced today that Basingstoke will be in Tier 2.
On Monday, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced how the new restrictions will work.
Mr Johnson said in his speech to the House of Commons that coronavirus infection rates are flattening off across England as a result of the second lockdown.
But he added that the nation is not out of the woods yet, saing: “With expansion in testing and vaccines edging closer to deployment, the regional tiered system will help get the virus back under control and keep it there.”
Read more: 38 new cases of coronavirus recorded in Basingstoke
Before the new lockdown began on Thursday, November 5, Basingstoke was in category 'medium' along with the rest of the country. This was the lowest risk tier available though as its name suggested, meant the risk of infection was 'medium'.
As of Monday, November 23, a map produced by Imperial College London says it is 91 per cent likely Basingstoke and Deane as a council area will have at least 100 cases per 100,000 people by December 6, four days after lockdown is due to end.
Read more: This is what the new Covid tier system means for you
The university’s Medical Research Council Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis classes areas with such a rate as a Covid-19 ‘hotspot’.
The Imperial College model is based on reported cases and weekly reported deaths, combined with mathematical modelling, which results in the probability of an area becoming a hotspot in the following weeks.
Basingstoke has a current rolling rate of 145.5 cases per 100,000 people, according to the latest Government data.
The Government coronavirus dashboard shows Hampshire as a whole has already hit the ‘hotspot’ figure, with a rolling rate of 147.2per 100,000 in the week up to November 17.
The Imperial modelling suggests the national lockdown is unlikely to have brought it down below the 100 rate by early December.
Read more: No further action over council worker's behaviour outside school
The Government will be looking at the rolling rate, number of cases and the number of people in hospital with the virus, as it decides what restrictions will be in place over the Christmas period.
Hatch Warren and Kempshott currently have the highest number of cases in the borough with 19 and 15 cases.
The government announcement today shows Basingstoke will be in Tier 2 when lockdown ends on December 2.
Tier 2 is the middle tier.
The current number of Covid cases in Basingstoke areas as of November 18
Houndmills and Oakridge: 12 (up 12 from a week previously)
South Ham and West Ham: 10 (no change)
Kempshott: 16 (up 11 from a week previously)
Hatch Warren 19 (down 3)
Buckskin and Worting: 3 (down 3)
Winklebury: 18 (down 4)
Popley: 31 (up 18 cases)
Chineham: 4 (down 4)
Brighton Hill: 16 (up 11)
Viables: 5 (down 6)
Basingstoke Central, Black Dam and Eastrop: 8 (up 4)
Daneshill and Little Basing: 4 (down 10)
Old Basing and the Candovers: 7 (down 9)
Odiham: 4 (no change)
Hook: 12 (up 3)
Hartley Wintney and Heckfield: 8 (up 1)
Bramley, Sherfield and the Sherbornes: 15 (up 7)
East Oakley: 6 (down 8)
Overton and North Waltham: 9 (up 1)
Whitchurch and Ashmansworth: 11 (up 6)
What is the difference between tier 2 and 3?
Tier 2 would see pubs/restaurants only able to serve alcohol with a meal.
Tier 3 would see all hospitality shut except for delivery/takeaways. Indoor entertainment would also close with none of the exemptions allows before lockdown (such as for trampoline parks in Basingstoke).
Shops, gyms, personal care (such as hairdressers), collective worship, weddings, outdoor sports will all return, and the rule of six will apply across all tiers. The 10pm hospitality closures will end.
There is no mixing of households indoors in either tier 2 or 3.
The Government says which areas are going into which tiers will be announced on Thursday – based on the latest data.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel