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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Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
The Manc -
23rd December 2020 
