Which Covid tier is Portsmouth going to be in? Here's what has been confirmed as coronavirus lockdown ends

The second coronavirus lockdown will soon come to an end in Portsmouth and the country.
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It is scheduled to end at 12.01am on December 2 – and it will mean the reopening of non-essential shops as well as other businesses which were ordered to shut again by the government.

Following the ending of the four week lockdown, the country will return to the three-tier system that was in place throughout October.

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However the tiers will be stricter with more restrictions in place for the ‘high' and ‘very high’ levels.

Savers in Commerical Road, Portsmouth. Picture: Sarah Standing (051120-7666)Savers in Commerical Road, Portsmouth. Picture: Sarah Standing (051120-7666)
Savers in Commerical Road, Portsmouth. Picture: Sarah Standing (051120-7666)
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19 areas where Covid cases are falling the fastest in Portsmouth, Gosport, Fareh...

The coronavirus tier for Portsmouth has now been confirmed – as well as those for Hampshire.

Here is what we know so far:

When will we know what tier Portsmouth is in?

The government has announced the new lockdown tiers for local authorities across the country today

So you should now know what tier you will be in come December 2.

What tier is Portsmouth in?

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Portsmouth is in tier 2 – ‘high’ – along with rest of Hampshire.

While Isle of Wight is in tier 1.

What is the current coronavirus infection rate – and how does it compare to before lockdown?

The data covers the seven days to November 20 and in that time the city had a rate of 202.4 per 100,000 with 435 new cases, a decrease of 112 on the rate of 314.1 from the week before.

Also it is smaller than the rate at the time lockdown began earlier in November, which was at 207.1 in the seven days to October 31 with 445 new cases.

Portsmouth was in Tier 1 prior to the second lockdown.

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During the lockdown the rate of infection passed 300 in Portsmouth but has begun to fall in the last week or so.

How does Portsmouth’s current rate compare nationally?

In the seven days to November 20, Swale in Kent had the highest rate in England with 539.7 per 100,000 – and had recorded 810 new cases in that time.

This is more than double the rate in Portsmouth.

Hull had the second highest rate with to 529.3 and 1,375 new cases, while Thanet was in third place with a rate of 491.8 and 698 new cases.

Again, both are much higher than Portsmouth.

The city does not even have the highest rate in Hampshire anymore – with Havant having overtaken it, with a rate of 221.8 in the seven days to November 20.

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Portsmouth is outside the top 130 highest rates in the country, based on the figures covering the week up to November 20.

What has Portsmouth City Council leader said?

When the end of lockdown and the return to the three-tier system was announced on Monday, The News spoke to the leader of Portsmouth City Council about which tier the city could end up in.

He explained: ‘We went into the lockdown in tier one – the lowest tier – but I don’t believe we’ll be there on December 2.

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‘Recently, more older people have been infected with the virus, which is what we were worried about and is one of the main metrics the government uses when deciding tiers.

‘Because it’s more prevalent in the community, it’s also easier to catch it yourself.’

He said this was due to the infection rate in Portsmouth matching what cities like Blackpool and Liverpool had when they moved into the highest tier.

However the infection rate in Blackpool on October 19, just two days after it was announced that it would be moving to tier 3, was 323.4 which is significantly higher than the current rate in Portsmouth.

What are the new rules and restrictions for the tiers?

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The old tiers of ‘medium’, ‘high’ and ‘very high’ alert levels will return after the lockdown ends on December 2.

Pubs will be stay open until 11pm this time in Tier 1 and Tier 2 – but will have to serve alcohol with a substantial meal in the ‘high’ level areas. In Tier 3 they will only be allowed to serve takeaways.

Gyms will be allowed to reopen - and non-essential shops can stay open in any of the tiers.

The rule of six will return.

Fans will be allowed to return to sport stadiums both indoor and outdoor in Tier 1 and Tier 2.

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So depending on which tier Portsmouth is in, Pompey fans could return to Fratton Park soon.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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