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Tier 2 lockdown rules in England: the latest Covid restrictions explained

England’s new three-tier system came into effect on 2 December after the national lockdown was lifted.

Non-essential shops in all areas can reopen, as can gyms, hairdressers and other personal care businesses, with the formal instruction to stay at home coming to an end. The “rule of six” will again apply for outdoor gatherings in all areas.

Places of worship will be able to open and weddings will be allowed within local restrictions.

What are the rules in tier 2?

Under the new system, although hospitality venues will be allowed to stay open until 11pm – with last orders at 10pm – only those that serve substantial meals can operate. It means pubs and bars that do not will have to close.

As before, social mixing outside of households or support bubbles will not be allowed indoors. The rule of six will apply outdoors.

Spectators will be allowed to watch sport in tier 2, with a maximum crowd capacity outdoors of 50% of the capacity of the stadium or 2,000 people, whichever is smaller. Indoors, the maximum capacity is 1,000.

Indoor entertainment venues, such as cinemas, casinos and bowling alleys, can open, but must close at 11pm.

Everyone who can work from home should do so.

The full government rules and guidance for tier 2 can be found here.

Comparison on England Covid tier restrictions

When will the tiers be reviewed?

The tiers will be reviewed on 16 December, any changes to the tiers will be announced on 17 December, and changes will come into force on 19 December.

For five days over Christmas – from 23 December to 27 December – there will be a UK-wide relaxation of rules to let up to three households form a bubble so they can mix socially indoors and stay overnight to enjoy the festive period together.

In Scotland, a maximum of eight people will be allowed but that does not include under-12s. In Northern Ireland, the window has been extended to 22-28 December to allow for additional travel time between countries.

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Which areas are currently in tier 2?

North-west

  • Cumbria

  • Liverpool city region

  • Warrington and Cheshire

Yorkshire

  • York

  • North Yorkshire

West Midlands

  • Worcestershire

  • Herefordshire

  • Shropshire, and Telford and Wrekin

East Midlands

  • Rutland

  • Northamptonshire

East of England

  • Suffolk

  • Hertfordshire

  • Cambridgeshire, including Peterborough

  • Norfolk

  • Essex, Thurrock and Southend-on-Sea

  • Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes

London

  • All 32 boroughs plus the City of London

South-east

  • East Sussex

  • West Sussex

  • Brighton and Hove

  • Surrey

  • Reading

  • Wokingham

  • Bracknell Forest

  • Windsor and Maidenhead

  • West Berkshire

  • Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton

  • Buckinghamshire

  • Oxfordshire

South-west

  • South Somerset, Somerset West and Taunton, Mendip and Sedgemoor

  • Bath and North East Somerset

  • Dorset

  • Bournemouth

  • Christchurch

  • Poole

  • Gloucestershire

  • Wiltshire and Swindon

  • Devon

  • Due to the unprecedented and ongoing nature of the coronavirus outbreak, this article is being regularly updated to ensure that it reflects the current situation as best as possible. The most recent update will have been made at the date shown at the top of the article. Any significant corrections made to this or previous versions of the article will continue to be footnoted below in line with Guardian editorial policy.