Today the Government announced that Nottingham will enter Tier 3 from Wednesday 2 December as part of its Winter Plan to reduce the spread of the virus following the end of the four-week national lockdown.

This is a bitter blow for people in Nottingham who have done the right thing, followed the rules and done an incredible job of driving down the rate of Covid infections from the highest in the country to below the national average.

Six weeks ago, Nottingham had the highest proportion of cases anywhere in the country, with close to 1,000 Covid-19 infections for every 100,000 people.

Thanks to collective efforts of sticking to tighter restrictions and limiting social contacts, rates have been coming down dramatically and consistently for almost 50 days now. That figure is down at 208 per 100,000, which is below the national average of 218 and places the city at 128^th on the list nationally.

This means that Nottingham?s rate is now over half of what it was when placed into Tier 3 last month and we had hoped that this dramatic and impressive turnaround would have meant we would be spared going into the new Tier 3.

I am disappointed that hasn?t proven to be the case, and we will need Government to provide further support for businesses, especially hospitality where they will be particularly badly hit, to see them through this as the amounts offered so far won?t be enough.

However, we must of course accept that these are the new rules we must abide by. Given the valiant efforts locally in the past few weeks, I have no doubt that we will continue to drive down infection rates and be able to leave Tier 3 and enter Tier 2 very soon. The tiers are being reviewed every 14 days so the hope must be that we could be into Tier 2 before Christmas.

• No mixing of households indoors or outdoors apart from support bubbles. Maximum of six in some outdoor public places, for example parks and public gardens
• Hospitality will close except for sales by takeaway, drive-through or delivery
• Retail and personal care businesses can all open
• Indoor entertainment must close
• Places of worship are open but cannot interact with anyone outside household or support bubble
• Avoid travelling out of the area, other than where necessary for work, education, youth services, medical attention or because of caring responsibilities
• No overnight stays outside of local area, unless necessary for work, education or similar reasons
• 15 guests for weddings, civil partnerships and wakes; 30 for funerals. Wedding receptions not permitted
• Exercise classes and organised adult sport can take place outdoors, but should avoid contact. Organised activities for elite athletes, under-18s and disabled people can continue.

For further information, visit www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/coronavirus-covid-19

The new Tiers have been strengthened to reduce the infection rate as part of a strategy to save lives, protect health and care services, and keep our economy and schools open. The current legislation for the tiering approach is due to end in March 2021.

As well as the new Tiers, the Government has also announced specific ?Christmas bubbles? that will allow people from three households to mix in homes between 23-27 December, to enable them to celebrate Christmas together.???

This and the good news about the rollout of vaccines gives us grounds for optimism, but it?s going to be a while before whole populations are protected from the virus. In the meantime, our local health and care services continue to experience severe pressures.?

Everyone needs to continue to stick to the rules of ?Hands, Face, Space? and reduce contact with people from other households as much as possible. In particular, anyone who has symptoms of Covid-19 ? such as a fever, continuous cough or loss of taste or smell ? should isolate immediately and book a test by calling 119.