The town of Warrington in Cheshire is to be placed in the highest tier 3 level of coronavirus restrictions, the local council has announced.
Warrington joins Merseyside, Lancashire, South Yorkshire and Greater Manchester under the most stringent of the government’s measures, forcing the closure of pubs and bars which do not serve food and strictly limiting social contacts between households.
Formal talks are also under way between the government and Nottinghamshire councils – including Nottingham itself – as well as West Yorkshire on a possible move from tier 2 to tier 3.
In a statement on Twitter, Warrington Borough Council said: “Warrington will be moving into tier 3 ‘very high risk’ restrictions.
“A package of financial support has been agreed and we will be sharing more information shortly.”
More than 700 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the borough over the past week and eight people with infections have died at Warrington Hospital in the past two days.
Council leader Russ Bowden told the Warrington Guardian: “We have got an issue in Warrington where the number of cases is stuck at a high level.
“We have seen the propagation of those cases into the older population.
“So the decision comes down to capacity in our hospital as well and we had to do what is right for Warrington. It is a tough decision to make but we have got to that point where we need to move into tier 3.”
It was not immediately clear when the new restrictions will come into effect. It is expected that betting shops and adult gaming centres will also be closed, but hairdressers and leisure centres will be allowed to remain open.
It is understood that a package of financial help will see £4m made available for affected businesses in the borough and around £1m given to the council to help with public health and enforcement.
