Cambridge and Cambridgeshire will move into Tier 4 restrictions on Boxing Day

Cambridge and the rest of Cambridgeshire will be moving into “Tier 4” restrictions on Boxing Day, according to Health Secretary Matt Hancock in a Downing Street briefing earlier today.

Since the end of the November national lockdown, Cambridgeshire has been under Tier 2 restrictions, but the nearby Peterborough moved into Tier 4 on Sunday 20th December.

Covid rates in Cambridgeshire have “surged” in the past few weeks, with cases doubling in three districts of Cambridgeshire over the last week.

Universities will remain open in Tier 4, and the government expects that the majority of university students will be able to return to university “as safely as possible following the winter break.” The gov.uk website has said that students living at university in a Tier 4 area should not move back and forth between their permanent and student homes during term time.

Those living in Tier 4 restrictions must not leave their homes or gardens except for work, education, and essential activities. Outdoor exercise is still permitted, however, and support bubbles remain in place under Tier 4 guidelines. Socialising outdoors or indoors with anyone who is not in your household or support bubble is not permitted. You can read more about the rules of Tier 4 on the gov.uk website.

Other areas in the UK that will be moving into Tier 4 on Boxing Day include Sussex, Oxfordshire, Suffolk and Norfolk.

Cambridge MP Daniel Zeichner said of the new restrictions: “Sadly I think it is the right decision for Cambridge to go into Tier 4. The new strain of the virus is spreading very quickly, Addenbrooke’s is super-busy and more people are getting ill.

“Hopes were raised around availability of vaccines earlier this month but right now we need to take maximum care.

“We end 2020 with one of the highest death tolls in Europe, businesses are struggling and the virus is once again out of control. All those sacrifices and it feels like we are back to where we were in March.”

The Cambridge University Press Office has also been contacted for comment.

Featured image credit: Geograph via Creative Commons License.