Here is a summary of the changes to the Covid-19 tier levels announced today by the Government:

– Tier 3

A total of 38 million people will be living in Tier 3 from 12.01am on Saturday December 19.

This is 68% of the population of England.

Around five million people have been added to Tier 3 in today’s announcement, in the following areas:
– Bedfordshire (Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Luton)
– Berkshire (Bracknell Forest, Reading, Slough, West Berkshire, Windsor & Maidenhead, Wokingham)
– Buckinghamshire (including Milton Keynes)
– Peterborough in Cambridgeshire
– Hastings and Rother in East Sussex
– Gosport, Havant and Portsmouth in Hampshire
– Dacorum, East Hertfordshire, North Hertfordshire, St Albans, Stevenage and Welwyn Hatfield in Hertfordshire
– Elmbridge, Epsom and Ewell, Guildford, Mole Valley, Reigate & Banstead, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, Tandridge and Woking in Surrey

These areas join Derbyshire, north-east England, most of Essex, Greater Manchester, the rest of Hertfordshire, the Humber, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, London, Nottinghamshire, South Gloucestershire, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, the West Midlands and West Yorkshire, which are already in Tier 3.

The main restrictions in Tier 3 are:
– No household mixing allowed indoors or outdoors, except in parks and public gardens
– All hospitality is closed, except for takeaways and deliveries
– All accommodation and entertainment venues are closed

– Tier 2

Two areas are moving from Tier 3 to Tier 2: Bristol and North Somerset, which have a combined population of 680,000.

It means 17 million people will be in Tier 2 from Saturday, or 30% of the population of England.

Tier 2 will now cover Bristol, Cambridgeshire (not Peterborough), Cheshire, Cumbria, Devon, Dorset, East Sussex (not Hastings and Rother), a small part of Essex (Colchester, Tendring and Uttlesford), Gloucestershire (not South Gloucestershire), Hampshire (not Gosport, Havant and Portsmouth), the Liverpool City Region, Norfolk, North Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Rutland, Shropshire, Somerset, Suffolk, Waverley in Surrey, West Sussex, Wiltshire, Worcestershire and York.

The main restrictions in Tier 2 are:
– No household mixing allowed indoors, but the ‘rule of six’ applies outdoors
– Hospitality venues must close unless serving substantial meals with drinks
– Large sport and entertainment events are allowed but with a very limited audience

– Tier 1

Herefordshire will join Cornwall, the Isle of Wight and the Isles of Scilly in Tier 1 from Saturday.

It means 900,000 people will now be in Tier 1, or 2% of the population of England.

The main restrictions in Tier 1 are:
– The ‘rule of six’ must apply indoors and outdoors
– There must be table service in hospitality venues, with last orders at 10pm and closing time at 11pm
– Large sporting and entertainment events are allowed but with a limited audience