Following the PMs announcement on Saturday evening West Yorkshire will now not be entering Tier 3 on Monday 2nd November but will be entering a National Lockdown on Thursday 5th November. More details to follow.
What you need to know regarding Leeds entering ‘Tier 3’ restrictions on Monday.
Why are new restrictions being introduced?
On Monday the 2nd November, Leeds along with the whole of West Yorkshire is being placed by the Government in to ‘Tier 3’ Very High restrictions.
This is due to infections rates rising in our area, as of Fri 30th October, the seven day average infection rate in Leeds is 416 per 100,000, on the 9th September, just over 6 weeks ago, the 7 day rolling average rate for Leeds was 73.6.
This is now impacting on our city’s hospitals with intensive care units becoming over stretched and elected surgeries and treatments are starting to be cancelled.
The aim of the new restrictions are to reduce the infection rates and to protect the NHS as we go into what is already annually its busiest period.
Whilst I appreciate how restrictive the rules and guidance are, it is imperative that we get the infection rate down to a manageable level. We can all help do this by following the rules and remembering to wash our hands, social distance and wear face masks where mandatory.
What are the new restrictions?
All the restrictions we are currently under plus the additional restrictions below.
Pubs and bars closed unless serving alcohol with a substantial meal. All venues that remain open are still subject to the 10 pm curfew
Households (other than in bubbles) cannot mix indoors or outdoors, other than in parks and other public outdoor spaces such as beaches (and then must be within rule of 6)
Shops, schools and universities will remain open
Wedding ceremonies with up to 15 people are permitted but receptions are not. Funerals are permitted up to 30 people
Guidance also advises against travel into or outside of the area except for certain purposes such as education, work and caring responsibilities
Additional Restrictions for West Yorkshire
The closure of:
Casinos
Soft Play Areas
Adult Gaming Centres
Betting Shops
Car boot sales.
The following restricted opening measures will also be put in place:
Shisha bars must not serve Shisha – but may operate as cafés
gyms may open, but guidance is against indoor exercise classes taking place.
You should continue to:
follow social distancing rules
work from home where you can effectively do so
walk or cycle where possible, or plan ahead and avoid busy times and routes on public transport
The restrictions will be reviewed in 28 days from commencement.
Is any financial support being offered to West Yorkshire?
West Yorkshire will receive £59.3m of support.
This funding is made up of:
A one-off additional amount of £20 per head: for West Yorkshire this is estimated to be worth £46.6m in additional funding to support businesses.
A total of £8 per head to support enhanced test and trace and contain measures, resulting in an additional £12.7m.
This is in addition to the existing business grant arrangements previously announced by the Chancellor.
What you can expect from me.
My Office will be available to contact and my staff will be operating from home. As such our phones will be re-routed and answered by staff at their homes. We are expecting a large increase in cases again as these measures are introduced and as a new ovid spike occurs so please can you contact the office via email wherever you can (alex@alexsobel.co.uk) and keep your queries short and specific. Please also include your address and whether or not you would like to receive a reply.
I am conducting constituency surgeries for specific individual casework and I am doing these online and over the telephone. For more general policy enquiries, I do ‘Ask Alex’ every other Saturday at 2pm on Facebook Live.