Remembrance Sunday events to be exempt from new Tier 2 lockdown restrictions
A cyclist wearing a face mask pushes a bike past a barrier outside the NHS
Remembrance Sunday events are set to be exempt from the coronavirus lockdown rules in areas which where infection rates are high, it has been revealed.
A new three-tier strategy of local lockdown measures for England was announced by Boris Johnson on Monday in efforts to curb rising cases in the north of the country.
As part of the changes, a new set of laws called The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Local COVID-19 Alert Level) (High) (England) Regulations 2020 have been drawn up by the government and published online ahead of them being debated in parliament.
The wording of the bill reveals that the government is planning to make 17 exceptions for different types of gatherings in so-called Tier 2 areas, including Remembrance Sunday events on 11 November.
Funerals, protests and marriages are also listed as possible gatherings which will be exempt from the new rules.
The bill also mentions of “seasonal exemptions” which could also see the rules relaxed for the upcoming Christmas period.
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Other measures taken in Tier 2 areas include a ban on households mixing indoors, although support bubbles will still be permitted, while the rule of six will continue to apply outdoors.
Most areas which are already subject to local restrictions will move to Tier 2, according to the prime minister.
Nottinghamshire, East and West Cheshire and a small area of High Peak will also move into the high alert level, he added.
Also in the North West, all of Lancashire is to be placed in the government’s second tier, including Blackpool, Preston, Blackburn with Darwen and Burnley – bringing some which previously faced tighter restrictions in line with the rest of the county.
In West Yorkshire, Leeds, Bradford, Kirklees, Calderdale and Wakefield are now at high alert level, while in South Yorkshire, Barnsley, Rotherham, Doncaster and Sheffield will also be subject to restrictions.
Newcastle, South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Gateshead, Sunderland, Durham and Northumberland are among the affected areas in the North East, alongside parts of Tees Valley including Middlesbrough and Hartlepool.
In the West Midlands, Birmingham, Sandwell, Solihull, Wolverhampton and Walsall have all been placed in the second tier. In the East Midlands, Leicester and Oadby and Wigston.
Warrington has also been placed in the high alert level.
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