A new 'very high alert' coronavirus tier has been announced for Stevenage, North Herts and Central Bedfordshire, after neighbouring districts in Hertfordshire were moved into Tier 3 on Wednesday.

Matt Hancock has announced our area will be in Tier 3 from 00.01am on Saturday, December 19, alongside the rest of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.

The news comes as coronavirus case rates have soared in recent weeks.

On Wednesday, December 16, Stevenage had 23 positive COVID-19 tests in one day according to the Government.

The rate over the last seven days, on December 11, has been 170.9 per 100,000.

There are 1,734 patients in hospitals in the East of England with 108 on ventilation.

A total of 64 people in Stevenage have died with COVID-19 on the death certificate as of Wednesday, December 16.

For North Hertfordshire, the case rates were 140 per 100,000 population up to December 12 - lower than England's average of 165.

There were 187 cases in the district between December, 6 and December 12. That's 53 higher than the previous week.

In total, there have been 1,885 cases of COVID-19 in North Herts, and 106 coronavirus-related deaths.

In Central Beds, case rates soared to 243.9 per 100,000, as 389 people tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week., taking the district's total up to 791.

In total, there have been 314 deaths in Central Beds with COVID-19 on the death certificate.

There are currently 1,734 patients in hospitals in the East of England with 108 on ventilation.

Below are the measures that people must follow under Tier Three ‘Very High Alert’:

  • People must not mix indoors or outdoors with people outside of their household, unless in a permitted outdoor space such as a park, where the rule of six applies.

  • Pubs, bars and restaurants would close and can operate a takeaway, drive-through or click and collect service only.

  • Hotels, B&Bs, campsites must close except for limited work or education reasons.

  • Indoor entertainment and tourist venues, including cinemas, casinos, bowling alleys, bingo halls, theme parks, must close.

  • Gyms and leisure facilities can open, but group exercise classes should not go ahead.

  • No crowds allowed at organised events, both indoor or outdoor.

  • Places of worship can remain open, but socialising and attending with those outside of your household is not permitted.

  • People should avoid all unnecessary travel and should reduce the number of journeys they make.

While in Tier Two the following restrictions apply:

  • Different households must not mix indoors, except for support bubbles, and that pubs and bars will have to close, unless they operate as restaurants.

  • The whole of Hertfordshire is in Tier Two, only three areas in the whole country are in Tier One – Isle of Wight, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly.

  • Other restrictions in Tier Two areas include: Hospitality venues can only serve alcohol with “substantial meals”.

  • Places of worship can still open, but interacting with anyone outside of your household is not permitted.

  • Crowds can attend socially distanced indoor and outdoor events, with up to 2,000 allowed for outdoor venues and 1,000 for indoor venues.

  • Residents from Tier Two areas, must follow these rules even if they visit a Tier One area.