Coronavirus: is London heading into Tier 3 after restrictions are reviewed on Wednesday?
Health Secretary mulling plans to split capital into two tiers in order to keep West End open
Police and council bosses have blasted proposals to impose Tier 3 coronavirus restrictions on some areas of London while leaving the rest in Tier 2.
The city has been in the mid tier since lockdown ended in November, but soaring infection rates have prompted Health Secretary Matt Hancock to consider introducing tougher measures in the capital’s worst-hit boroughs when nationwide restrictions are reviewed on Wednesday.
The plan “would mean restaurants and other hospitality businesses in London’s West End could stay open, while those in suburban areas would close”, The Mail on Sunday reports. But the Met Police and local councils are warning that monitoring movements between areas in different tiers would be impossible and that the split could cause public order issues.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Some Tory MPs have also criticised the plan. Six senior Conservatives have sent a letter to Boris Johnson arguing that imposing blanket Tier 3 measures in parts of the capital would hurt not just Londoners but “people across the nation” who depend on the “wealth and prosperity generated by our great city”.
The leaked letter, organised by Harrow East MP Bob Blackman, also warns that London’s Tory MPs may vote against the government’s Covid response plans at next month’s review if the city is plunged into Tier 3.
The Tory rebels may be fighting a losing battle, however, with London now recording higher infection rates than any other region in the UK.
Health ministers told London MPs last week that the positive test rate in the capital was 7%, compared with an average of 5.9% across the rest of the country. And latest official figures show that the city has been hit with nearly 24,000 Covid cases in a week, with rises in every borough, the London Evening Standard reports.
Five boroughs each reported more than 1,000 new cases in the week to 8 December: Havering (1,222), Redbridge (1,109) Newham (1,084), Enfield (1,017) and Waltham Forest (1,013). But “while northeast London remains the Covid hotspot, the disease appears to be seeping across the city", the newspaper adds.
Indeed, the infection rate in London is so high that tier changes may be announced before the review scheduled for Wednesday, government sources told Politico’s London Playbook.
However, the leading epidemiologist behind the Covid Symptom Study app has argued that putting the capital into Tier 3 would be a “big mistake" in the push to curb infections, the British Medical Journal website reports.
Speaking at a Royal Society of Medicine event, Tim Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, said: “This on-off business is a total disaster, and we should avoid it. Drinking and festivities will happen if people think that in two days’ time, ‘that is it for another six weeks’.
“It would be madness to do that."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Why Bhutan hopes tourists will put a smile back on its face
Under The Radar The 'kingdom of happiness' is facing economic problems and unprecedented emigration
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
7 beautiful towns to visit in Switzerland during the holidays
The Week Recommends Find bliss in these charming Swiss locales that blend the traditional with the modern
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
The Week contest: Werewolf bill
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
Long Covid: study shows damage to brain's 'control centre'
The Explainer Research could help scientists understand long-term effects of Covid-19 as well as conditions such as MS and dementia
By The Week UK Published
-
FDA OKs new Covid vaccine, available soon
Speed read The CDC recommends the new booster to combat the widely-circulating KP.2 strain
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Mpox: how dangerous is new health emergency?
Today's Big Question Spread of potentially deadly sub-variant more like early days of HIV than Covid, say scientists
By The Week UK Published
-
What is POTS and why is it more common now?
The explainer The condition affecting young women
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Brexit, Matt Hancock and black swans: five takeaways from Covid inquiry report
The Explainer UK was 'unprepared' for pandemic and government 'failed' citizens with flawed response, says damning report
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Should masks be here to stay?
Talking Points New York Governor Kathy Hochul proposed a mask ban. Here's why she wants one — and why it may not make sense.
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Covid might be to blame for an uptick in rare cancers
The explainer The virus may be making us more susceptible to certain cancers
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Long Covid and chronic pain: is it all in the mind?
The Explainer 'Retraining the brain' could offer a solution for some long Covid sufferers
By The Week UK Published