HEALTH SECRETARY Matt Hancock revealed the newest areas that can be plunged into Tier 4 restrictions from Boxing Day.
In Wednesday’s press conference from Downing Avenue, he introduced that Hampshire can be amongst these to face the hardest coronavirus guidelines from 00:01 – however that solely the New Forest had been the exception.
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The New Forest Nationwide Park has averted Tier 4 restrictions within the newest Covid replaceCredit score: Alamy
Why is New Forest exempt from Tier 4?
Southampton and Portsmouth, together with the remainder of Hampshire, will face Tier 4 restrictions from straight after Christmas Day.
However simply outdoors of Southampton metropolis, the New Forest space will stay in Tier 3.
Within the seven days main as much as December 22, they’d 160 new circumstances at a fee of 88.8 per 100,000, in line with Workplace for Nationwide Statistics.
Over the identical time interval, the remainder of England recorded 284.2 circumstances per 100,000 individuals.
Together with the remainder of Hampshire, they’d been in Tier 2 restrictions since finish of the second nationwide lockdown.
However whereas there neighbours have been bumped as much as the very best threat stage, the New Forest have moved into Tier 3.
This can see pubs, eating places and different indoor amenities will shut, icluding cinemas, casinos and bowling alleys.
But, takeaways and drive by means of eating places will have the ability to keep open.
Households will proceed to not have the ability to combine indoors or in personal out of doors areas.
However they will nonetheless meet as much as six individuals in public locations similar to parks.
The place is the New Forest?
The New Forest stretches out over a 566km sq space.
It was declared a Royal Forest by William the Conqueror in 1079 earlier than changing into a Nationwide Park in 2005.
It sits on the border of Hampshire and Wiltshire alongside the south coast, with Southampton to its east and Bournemouth on the west.
Round 14m individuals go to the realm yearly, with a inhabitants of just below 180,000, in line with 2018 statistics.
Among the many widespread cities within the space are Lymington , Brockenhurst, Beaulieu and New Milton.
