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Remembrance Sunday events to be exempt from new Tier 2 lockdown restrictions

George Martin
·2-min read
A cyclist wearing a face mask or covering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, pushes a bike past a barrier outside the NHS Nightingale Hospital North West field hospital, set up to provide more hospital capacity during the novel coronavirus pandemic, at Manchester Central Convention Complex in Manchester, northwest England on October 13, 2020. - The National Health Service (NHS) announced that three field hospitals across northern England, in Manchester, Sunderland and Harrogate, would be mobilised to accept new patients amid rising coronavirus infections. The British government faced renewed pressure on October 13 after indications it had ignored scientific advice three weeks ago for tougher restrictions to cut rising coronavirus infections. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP) (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
A cyclist wearing a face mask pushes a bike past a barrier outside the NHS Nightingale Hospital North West field hospital in Manchester. (Getty)

Remembrance Sunday events are set to be exempt from the coronavirus lockdown rules in areas which where infection rates are high, it has been revealed.

A new three-tier strategy of local lockdown measures for England was announced by Boris Johnson on Monday in efforts to curb rising cases in the north of the country.

As part of the changes, a new set of laws called The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Local COVID-19 Alert Level) (High) (England) Regulations 2020 have been drawn up by the government and published online ahead of them being debated in parliament.

The wording of the bill reveals that the government is planning to make 17 exceptions for different types of gatherings in so-called Tier 2 areas, including Remembrance Sunday events on 11 November.

People wearing face masks walk through the shopping area in the city centre of Manchester, north west England on October 8, 2020. - Pubs and restaurants in coronavirus hotspots look set to face fresh restrictions after Downing Street said new data suggests there is "significant" transmission taking place in hospitality settings. A "range of measures" is being looked at, with a particular focus on northern England, where it says infection rates are rising fastest. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP) (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
People wearing face masks walk through Manchester city centre. (PA)

Funerals, protests and marriages are also listed as possible gatherings which will be exempt from the new rules.

The bill also mentions of “seasonal exemptions” which could also see the rules relaxed for the upcoming Christmas period.

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Other measures taken in Tier 2 areas include a ban on households mixing indoors, although support bubbles will still be permitted, while the rule of six will continue to apply outdoors.

Most areas which are already subject to local restrictions will move to Tier 2, according to the prime minister.

Nottinghamshire, East and West Cheshire and a small area of High Peak will also move into the high alert level, he added.

Also in the North West, all of Lancashire is to be placed in the government’s second tier, including Blackpool, Preston, Blackburn with Darwen and Burnley – bringing some which previously faced tighter restrictions in line with the rest of the county.

In West Yorkshire, Leeds, Bradford, Kirklees, Calderdale and Wakefield are now at high alert level, while in South Yorkshire, Barnsley, Rotherham, Doncaster and Sheffield will also be subject to restrictions.

Newcastle, South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Gateshead, Sunderland, Durham and Northumberland are among the affected areas in the North East, alongside parts of Tees Valley including Middlesbrough and Hartlepool.

In the West Midlands, Birmingham, Sandwell, Solihull, Wolverhampton and Walsall have all been placed in the second tier. In the East Midlands, Leicester and Oadby and Wigston.

Warrington has also been placed in the high alert level.

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