Coronavirus cases surge in Epping Forest as Tier 4 announced

Most of Essex has today been placed into the new Tier 4 coronavirus restrictions, with similar rules to recent lockdowns

In Epping Forest the rate of infection has surged from 337.9 in the seven days to December 8 to 835.3 in the seven days to December 15 – the latest available accurate data.

The district has posted a record 1,100 new cases in a week, up from 445 the week before.

Only Basildon, Thurrock, Havering, Medway and Swale have higher rates of infection the whole of England.

Thurrock, the worst affected local authority has posted an infection rate of 961.3.

In response, large parts of the South East of England have been placed into Tier 4 restrictions.

Under the new Tier 4 rules non-essential shops – as well as gyms, cinemas, casinos and hairdressers – have to stay shut and people are limited to meeting one other person from another household in an outdoor public space.

Those in Tier 4 were told they should not travel out of the region, while those outside were advised against visiting.

“What is really important is that people not only follow them (the new rules) but everybody in a Tier 4 area acts as if you have the virus to stop spreading it to other people,” Mr Hancock told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme.

Scientists on the Government’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag) have concluded the VUI 202012/01 mutant strain, identified by the Public Health England laboratories at Porton Down, is spreading more quickly.

The Prime Minister was advised of the group’s conclusions at a meeting with ministers on the Covid O Committee on Friday evening, and the new regulations were signed off by Cabinet before Saturday’s announcement scuppered many people’s plans to see family for Christmas.

“We know with this new variant you can catch it more easily from a small amount of the virus being present,” Mr Hancock said.

“All of the different measures we have in place, we need more of them to control the spread of the new variant than we did to control the spread of the old variant. That is the fundamental problem.

“We know that because we know that in November that in the areas where this new variant started, in Kent, the cases carried on rising whereas in the rest of the country the November lockdown worked very effectively.

“It is an enormous challenge, until we can get the vaccine rolled out to protect people. This is what we face over the next couple of months.”

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