Voice of London

Boris Johnson’s new restrictive measures for December, Sage’s research on the previous tier system, new funds for the NHS and what we will be able to do on Christmas. This is everything you can expect to know this week.

The end of lockdown on the 2nd of December is approaching, but tomorrow’s reveal of Boris Johnson’s new ‘Covid winter plan’ preannounces that restrictions won’t be over just yet.

Downing Street has confirmed that following the 2nd of December, the UK will once again be divided for what concerns Covid restrictions.

A new tier system will be put in place after the end of the current lockdown and will be based on the infection rate in every region of the nation. Which areas will go under each tier will be decided by the government on Thursday.

The new restrictions will be announced to the MPs tomorrow morning by the Prime Minister and will also include more details on how we will be able to spend Christmas. The measures are expected to allow families to join a ‘bubble’, a mix of different households, in order to be able to see loved ones for Christmas.

Nevertheless, a poll for the Observer found that 54% of the public would rather have a locked-down Christmas than new and more severe restrictions in January. Moreover, reopening for Christmas would seem rather unfair, compared to how holidays from other religions have been completely overlooked during summer and through the current lockdown.

This will be the second three-tier system to be put in place in the UK but will be stricter than the one experienced before the current lockdown. More areas will be put in the higher risk tier, and the measures for each tier will be more severe.

This tightening of the restrictions can also be reconducted to the pressure put on Johnson by the research brought on by the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), which exposes the weaknesses of the previous tier system. Sage’s research papers will be published tomorrow, in conjunction with the reveal of the new measures to the MPs.

People all over the UK have been reacting to the perspective of the new measures on Twitter with the trending hashtag; #livingNOTlockdown. Many are complaining about what they deem as useless measures which will only destroy the economy, while others are defending the necessary restrictions.

According to Johnson, the new ‘Covid winter plan’ will serve as a safeguard to preserve the progress made during the national lockdown.

A No 10 spokeswoman told The Guardian: “The prime minister and his scientific advisers are clear the virus is still present – and without regional restrictions, it could quickly run out of control again before vaccines and mass testing have had an effect. That would put in jeopardy the progress the country has made, and once again risk intolerable pressure on the NHS.”

Additional help for the NHS will be announced on Wednesday by the Chancellor Rishi Sunak and will include a £3bn package of funds, of which £500m will be employed in mental health services, as more and more people are experiencing a worsening of their mental state during the lockdown.

Read more lockdown’s effects on about mental health at:

• Beating winter blues – the effects of SAD on mental health
• Disabled young people facing higher levels of anxiety amid the Covid-19 pandemic
• Nature vs lockdown blues

Words: Sara Guadrini | Subbing: Jessica Noble