Following the latest Government review of the Tier Alert Levels of Coronavirus restrictions in England, the Health Secretary Matt Hancock has confirmed that North Tyneside will remain under the ‘Very High’ alert level.

This means the tier 3 restrictions – which have been in place since Wednesday 2nd December – will remain in place for at least the next two weeks.

The 11 other council areas in the North East of England, including the rest of Tyne & Wear, Northumberland, County Durham and the Tees Valley, are also subject to the same alert level.

A reminder of the main restrictions across our region:

  • Households must not mix indoors or in private gardens unless in a support bubble
  • Outdoor gatherings are limited to six socially-distanced individuals
  • Hospitality settings will remain closed except for takeaway and delivery services
  • Indoor entertainment venues, such as cinemas, theatres, bowling alleys and bingo halls, must remain closed
  • Travel outside of the area is not recommended

You can find the full and detailed list of Tier 3 rules and advice on the Government’s website, here.

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From the 23rd December to the 27th December some of these restrictions will be relaxed however the government advice is that the safest way to spend Christmas is with your household or support bubble only, in your own home.

However residents can legally form a Christmas support bubble for this five day period with up to two other households. The advice is that you should keep your Christmas bubble as small as possible and minimise the time you spend with your bubble.

UPDATE AS OF 20.12.2020: Following a news conference with the Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday 19th December, it was announced that the Christmas Bubble plan would be reduced as a result of wider changes.

In our area, under Tier 3 restrictions, residents can form a Christmas bubble with two other households but for Christmas Day (25th December) only, not the five days originally set out.

Additionally, a new Tier 4 has been implemented in London as well as areas of the South East and East of England, such as Kent, Surrey, Bedfordshire and parts of Essex. Residents in Tier 4 cannot form a Christmas bubble and therefore residents in Tiers 1, 2 and 3 are not allowed to mix indoors or outdoors with people in Tier 4.

There is also new restrictions on travelling to the other nations in the UK, such as Scotland. To protect you and your loved ones, people are urged to think very carefully about the risks of forming a Christmas bubble. You can find out more about this here.

For more information about TyneHealth’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, click here to see our information hub; including details on how to volunteer with our vaccine programme.

You can also find more information about support available from North Tyneside Council here.

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