It was announced earlier today that Southampton will be placed in Tier 2 (High Alert) when the national lockdown restrictions come to an end next week.

From 2nd December, mixing between households under the ‘rule of six’ will only be permitted in public outside. People must not socialise with anyone you do not live with, or who is not in your support bubble in any indoor setting. However hospitality businesses can reopen, as can leisure centres, gyms and non-essential shops.

The full list of rules under the Tier 2 restrictions can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/…/local-restriction-tiers-what-you-need-…

I understand why Southampton has been put into Tier 2 although I am very disappointed that these measures are needed. I know that many people in Southampton are working hard to keep this virus under control. However the rates in Southampton are still high and we need to be all as careful as we can and continue to stick the rules which are in place to protect everyone including our loved ones. We all want to defeat this virus over the challenging winter months and the only way to do this is to follow the rules until will can successfully roll-out a vaccine. Good progress is being made here and I am hopeful we will be able to get back to a much greater sense of normality before too long.