Outlets on Oxford Avenue will keep open however individuals have been warned to steer clear of tier-three areas (Image: PA)
Individuals mustn’t journey to London for Christmas buying, Matt Hancock warned as he plunged London into tier three restrictions.
After a spike within the capital’s coronavirus instances, the federal government introduced their evaluation ahead and introduced new guidelines for the town right now as a substitute of Wednesday.
Though tier three restrictions nonetheless permit non-essential outlets to remain open, the Well being Secretary warned individuals towards travelling to the capital for Christmas buying and suggested these underneath the harshest tier to limit their journey.
There have been warnings that the transfer might devastate companies within the metropolis, together with the usually-packed Oxford Avenue, the place about £1.7billion was spent on Saturday.
The Conservative chairman of the Commons Well being and Social Care Choose Committee, Jeremy Hunt, requested Mr Hancock: ‘From Wednesday, when you stay outdoors London will it’s towards the rules to return into Oxford Avenue to do your Christmas buying?
‘If you happen to stay inside London will it’s towards the rules to do your Christmas buying and is the one method to do your Christmas buying legally now to go surfing?’
Mr Hancock responded: ‘The query he asks about Christmas buying is necessary. It is suggested that individuals ought to minimise journey except it’s essential in a tier three space.
‘They need to additionally minimise journey the place it’s essential to a Tier 3 space.
‘And so we have now taken this motion to attempt to shield individuals and to attempt to gradual the unfold of this virus and that’s completely the appropriate factor to do.’
He didn’t immediately reply Mr Hunt’s questions.
In tier three, individuals are not alleged to journey out of the realm except completely essential to cut back the variety of journeys being taken on public transport.
Individuals swarmed to the capital to do Christmas buying final weekend (Image: PA)
Mr Hancock mentioned individuals shouldn’t be touring to tier-three areas (Image: PA)
London’s new guidelines are additionally disastrous for the hospitality sector, which will likely be restricted to solely take-aways and deliveries as venues had been throughout lockdown.
The modifications come as London’s seven-day case rose in 32 native authority areas in comparison with the earlier week, based on Mayor Sadiq Khan, who wrote a letter to the Prime Minister urging him to shut faculties early for Christmas.
In 17 of these boroughs, the seven-day charge till December 9 was greater than 200 per 100,000 individuals.
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