Health Secretary Matt Hancock has this afternoon provided an update on the government’s tier system following rise in “new variant” cases detected nationwide.
He addressed the nation in a televised press conference a few moments ago.
He was joined at the podium with Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Jenny Harries and Dr Susan Hopkins of Public Health England, and it comes after a health official confirmed that: “Ministers have met today to assess what further action may be needed to address the rise in cases driven by the new variant.”
Mr Hancock stated that cases have risen across the country by 57% in the last week, with hospital admissions at the highest level since April.
The said against this backdrop, it is “absolutely vital that we act”.
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Health Secretary Matt Hancock says across the country #COVID19 cases have risen 57% in the last week.
He then announced that from 00.01am on Boxing Day, Sussex, Oxfordshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, parts of Essex not in Tier 4, Waverley in Surrey, and Hampshire will all go into Tier 4.
Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Swindon, Isle of Wight, New Forest, Northamptonshire, Cheshire and Warrington will go into Tier 3.
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Cornwall and Herefordshire will go into Tier 2.
He said the new tier changes “is not news that anyone wants to deliver,” and adds that he is “truly sorry” for the disruption this causes.
BREAKING: Matt Hancock announces more areas in the east, South East and parts of the South West of England will be placed in Tier 4 to battle the growing number of #coronavirus cases.
Mr Hancock then confirmed that another new variant of COVID-19 has been detected in the UK, with two cases seen so far, adding that they are contacts of cases who have travelled from South Africa over the last few weeks.
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Mr Hancock says the development is “highly concerning” because it is yet more transmissible and appears to have mutated further.
He then confirmed that the government is quarantining cases and close contacts of the cases found in the UK – as well as placing “immediate restrictions” on travel from South Africa – and stated that anyone who has been to the country within the last two weeks should quarantine, as well as those who have been close contacts of individuals who have been to the country.
He says the measures are “temporary” while the new strain is being investigated.
“We’ve discovered a new more contagious virus, a variant, that is spreading at a dangerous rate”
It also comes as it was confirmed earlier this afternoon that the UK’s R number has once again risen slightly to between 1.1 and 1.3.
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The next official review of the tier system is due on Wednesday 30th December, with the government’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, stating that tighter measures will be needed as the virus “likely” spreads further.
As announced in a joint statement issued by Greater Manchester’s ten directors of public health on Monday, anyone who has travelled to Greater Manchester from Tier 4 areas – or Wales – for Christmas is being told to self-isolate for at ten days.
Anyone arriving to the city-region is urged to remain in whichever house they are staying at for that period, starting from Saturday 19th December.
This is a BREAKING NEWS story – More to follow.
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For the latest information, guidance and support during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the UK, please do refer to official sources at gov.uk/coronavirus.
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‘Busiest’ Easter bank holiday weekend expected as 19 million people hit the roads
Emily Sergeant
It’s expected to be one of the busiest Easter bank holidays in three years, as millions of people travel across the UK.
With the four-day weekend upon us, and people nationwide prepare to make the journey to visit family or friends over their extra couple of days off work or school, the RAC has now issued one of its annual travel warnings – anticipating that 19 million people could be hitting the roads from this Thursday evening onwards.
It’s all according to a new study of drivers’ spring getaway plans carried out by the RAC and traffic analytics specialists INRIX.
Research is suggesting that traffic will be equally severe on Thursday 17, Good Friday, and Saturday 19 April, with drivers planning around 2.7 million trips every day during that period, but the number of planned trips does drop slightly on Easter Sunday to 2.5 million.
Sadly, that dip is only short-lived, as the number of trips increases once again to a further 2.7 million on bank holiday Monday as millions of people look to return home.
19 million people are expected to hit the roads over the Easter bank holiday weekend / Credit: Geograph | Pxfuel
To make matters even worse, it’s thought that a further 6.2 million journeys are anticipated at some point over the Easter bank holiday weekend, but drivers planning these trips are still unsure exactly when they’ll travel.
The ‘notorious British weather’ is likely to be a big factor in travel decision making, according to the RAC.
INRIX expects that tomorrow (Thursday 17) will be the worst day for traffic, when jams are likely to increase by nearly a third (30%) more than usual.
Meanwhile, on Good Friday, the lengthiest hold-ups are expected between 11am to 1pm, so drivers are therefore being advised to start their trips as early as possible in the morning, or delay them until later in the afternoon.
Motorists are being warned to plan their journeys in advance / Credit: pxfuel
“The bank holiday weekend clashes with the end of the Easter break for many schools, which we think will change the nature of this year’s getaway,” admitted RAC breakdown spokesperson, Alice Simpson.
“Although journey numbers are still very high, we’re anticipating more day trips and weekend breaks than people heading off on one and two-week stints… [so] this could lead to a ‘hat-trick of hold-ups’ on Thursday, Friday and Saturday as drivers visit family and friends.
“But while getaway journeys may be shorter in length, we’re still expecting to see extremely high levels of traffic from Thursday onwards, with the greatest number of Easter getaway trips planned for three years.”
Alice warned that drivers should expect queues if they ‘don’t plan the best time to set off’.
“It’s always best to travel as early as possible in the morning or later in the day when most of the traffic has eased,” she added.
Featured Image – Geograph
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Onlookers ‘in tears’ after tiny duckling rescued from storm drain in beauty spot
Daisy Jackson
The RSPCA has shared a heartwarming video of a reunion between a tiny duckling and his mum, after the baby bird fell into a storm drain.
The charity, with the help of staff in the nearby Grandpa Greene’s Luxury Ice Cream Parlour, managed to fish the tiny bird out of the storm drain in a painstaking two-hour-long operation.
Miraculously, the duckling was unharmed, and his mum was waiting nearby on the canal in Saddleworth ready to be reunited with her baby.
The RSPCA has now thanked the staff member who helped rescue the duckling, and issued a warning to the public to keep dogs on a lead when near wildlife, believing the poor bird was chased by a dog before falling down the five-feet-high grid.
The rescue operation too place in Diggle last Wednesday 9 April, with Animal Rescue Officer Lee Ferrans taking on the ‘long and painstaking’ process of tempting the duckling into a net.
Lee said: “I wasn’t able to lift the grid so the only thing I could do was push an extendable pole straight down and try to catch the duckling in a net. There wasn’t a lot of room for manoeuvre and the net kept catching on all the debris.
“Just when I thought I’d been successful, the duckling kept disappearing into a drain on one side and then popping out again. A member of staff from Grandpa Greene’s had just finished her shift and came across to the other side of the canal to help me. I unscrewed the top of the pole with the net and held it down on one side of the drain while she used another section to gently encourage the bird to go into the net.
“It was quite a long and painstaking rescue but we eventually managed to bring the little one back up safely after more than two hours.”
The pair then placed the duckling into a cardboard box before heading further up the canal to reunite them with their mother and six sibling ducklings.
The adult duck ‘instantly recognised’ the chirping and swam straight towards it.
Lee added: “A little crowd had gathered and as the family were reunited people were shedding tears. It was a really lovely moment to see them all back together.
“I’d especially like to thank the member of staff from Grandpa Greene’s who offered an extra pair of hands – I couldn’t have done it without her – and to all the people in the area who stopped and were concerned.
“Storm drains can be a bit of a menace for ducklings, especially at this time of the year when there are babies around, and this brood was only a few days old.”
The Manc -
23rd December 2020 
