Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the House of Commons today to set out his new three tier lockdown plan that will see a standard set for local lockdown rules across England.

As part of his statement, the PM confirmed that there will be no national lockdown, schools and universities will remain open, as will retail businesses.  But he also emphasised that the UK ‘needs to go further’ in curbing the rapidly increasing infection rate in order to protect the NHS and prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed.

As a result he announced that any area currently under a local lockdown will move immediately into the ‘Tier 2’ lockdown rules, meaning that certain cities such as Liverpool will have stricter lockdown rules re-imposed.

But what does Tier 2 lockdown mean and what are the new rules?

What does Tier 2 lockdown mean?

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There are three tiers in Boris Johnson’s new system:

• Tier 1 – Medium risk – Where most of the UK sits at the moment
• Tier 2 – High risk – Where any areas in local lockdown now sit
• Tier 3 – Very High risk – the highest tier that certain areas will be escalated to if infection rates do not decline

Any area that was in a local lockdown before today will now immediately enter Tier 2 of the lockdown rules system.

Under these new standardised lockdown rules, anyone living in an area now under Tier 2 of the lockdown system will be prohibited from mixing with other households indoors. However, you are allowed to mix outside as long as the national ‘rule of six’ is observed.

Those following Tier 2 lockdown rules are also asked to only make essential journeys and not travel too far outside the area in which they live unless it is absolutely necessary.

Mr Johnson said that the three tier system will be kept ‘under review’ but areas in Tier 2 of lockdown where transmission rate are rising most rapidly could risk being put into Tier 3 of lockdown and even stricter restrictions imposed.

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