Thousands more non-essential stores to close in tier four areas from Boxing Day

In a press conference this afternoon health secretary Matt Hancock announced that millions more people will be facing tier four restrictions from Boxing Day, as the new, more transmissible, strain of coronavirus continues to spread, particularly in the East and Southeast of England.

Hancock said that, from midnight on Boxing Day, Sussex, Oxfordshire, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire would all be entering tier four. 

Hampshire, with the exception of New Forest, and the parts of Essex and Surrey not already in the toughest restrictions will also enter tier four.

Under tier four restrictions, all ‘non-essential’ retailers will be forced to close their stores, putting pay to any hopes they may have had of picking up some traditional Boxing Day Sales foot traffic. 

Alongside the areas entering tier four, Hancock also said that a number of regions would be seeing an increase in tiers. 

Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, including the North Somerset council area, Swindon, Isle of Wight, New Forest and Northamptonshire, as well as Cheshire and Warrington, will all be entering tier three. 

Areas in Cornwall and Herefordshire meanwhile will move into tier two.

Responding to the announcement, BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: 

“The light at the end of the tunnel seems further than ever and many retailers – who are losing billions in sales with each passing week – will struggle under the new wave of closures. Throughout, retailers have continued to play their part, investing hundreds of millions of pounds making stores Covid-secure for customers and staff, and SAGE’s advice has said throughout that closing non-essential retail has a minimal impact on the spread of the virus.

“The biggest Christmas gift the government could give us all is to put even more momentum behind the vaccination programme and more widespread testing. The Government is keen to keep people at home as this process is rolled out, and the faster the population is vaccinated the better the outlook for businesses across the country. The industry would rather trade its way to recovery, but this has now been curtailed by the extended Tier 4 restrictions. The time for debating future business rates relief is over, it is now an imperative. The Government must announce targeted relief beyond April for those retailers who are suffering under the impact of repeated closures, or else be prepared for further shop closures and job losses in the New Year.”

The health secretary also announced the detection of another, new and “highly concerning” variant of the virus in the UK.

Hancock said this variant had likely come into the country from South Africa.