HAMPSHIRE will be placed in Tier Two from next Wednesday, but why has the county been moved from Tier One?

Health minister Matt Hancock explains that it is down to the case rates in the county.

He said: "There is a mixed picture across this area although the overall case rate is now 152/100,000 and falling in almost all areas. NHS admissions were increasing rapidly until mid-November and are now stable."

The health secretary believes that the tier system “should prevent the need to introduce stricter national measures”.

He added that the decision to place certain areas in tiers is “not easy” but they have been made according to the best clinical advice.

The government considered these factors when deciding on the tiers:

  1. Case detection rates in all age groups
  2. Case detection rates in the over 60s
  3. The rate at which cases are rising or falling
  4. Positivity rate (the number of positive cases detected as a percentage of tests taken)

Pressure on the NHS.
The regulations will require the Government to review the allocations every 14 days, with the first review complete by the end of 16 December.