Localised lockdown list: Which UK areas have gone back into lockdown - and which areas at risk of going into lockdown?

Which areas are going into localised lockdown on December 2? These are the regions taking on tier 2 and 3 restrictions next month.

sign to promote social distancing in area of localised lockdown

Looking to know if your area is under a localised lockdown in Boris Johnson’s new tier system? These are the areas in tier two and three from December 2 2020…

We all know that the path when lockdown ends won't be straight forward after being under restrictions since March this year but now, as the prime minister announced his new tier lockdown system, it seems as though many areas are set to take on harsher restrictions in localised lockdown than before. 

England is set to come out of the second national lockdown at the beginning of December and will go straight into the new three tier system. The Covid-19 Winter Plan sees areas divided up into ‘medium’, ‘high’ and ‘very high’ risk depending on a number of risk factors, including infection rate and hospital admissions. 

Each of the different levels has different restrictions, with the main differences between tiers 2 and 3. Other differences range from indoor social mixing in tier one (medium risk) to the complete ban on any hospitality venues opening in tier three (very high risk). 

With the tiers only just announced, there is time before Christmas for the regions put into tier three to make their way down to tier two - but it can also happen the other way round. So while this won’t affect the Christmas lockdown rules too much, we could see the new system essentially amounting to a January lockdown after the festive period if cases don’t reduce. 

So which towns, cities and counties are at risk of a localised lockdown? And which areas have recently been placed under tier two and tier three restrictions? 

Local lockdown list - which places are in lockdown in the UK?

Man working from home on laptop during localised lockdown

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Under the government’s new tier localised lockdown system coming into place in December, these are the areas that will be taking on the most restrictions in tiers three and two. 

Included in the tier system rules are bans on household mixing, hospitality and entertainment venues opening and meeting people indoors. But in all three tiers, non-essential shops and personal care businesses will be open, along with gyms and other similar leisure facilities. 

It's thought that over 23 million people in England, more than 40% of the whole population will be in tier 3 restrictions when they come into effect from December 2.

Areas under tier three of the lockdown system:

Closed sign due to Covid 19

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North East

  • Hartlepool
  • Middlesbrough
  • Stockton-on-Tees
  • Redcar and Cleveland
  • Darlington
  • Sunderland
  • South Tyneside
  • Gateshead
  • Newcastle upon Tyne
  • North Tyneside
  • County Durham
  • Northumberland

North West

  • Greater Manchester
  • Lancashire
  • Blackpool
  • Blackburn with Darwen

Yorkshire and The Humber

  • The Humber
  • West Yorkshire
  • South Yorkshire

West Midlands

  • Birmingham and Black Country
  • Staffordshire
  • Stoke-on-Trent
  • Warwickshire
  • Coventry
  • Solihull

East Midlands

  • Derby and Derbyshire
  • Nottingham and Nottinghamshire
  • Leicester and Leicestershire
  • Lincolnshire

South East

  • Slough
  • Kent and Medway

South West

  • Bristol
  • South Gloucestershire
  • North Somerset

Areas under tier two of the lockdown system:

'High' tier localised lockdown sign

Credit: Getty

North West

  • Cumbria
  • Liverpool City Region
  • Warrington
  • Cheshire

Yorkshire

  • York
  • North Yorkshire
  • West Midlands
  • Worcestershire
  • Herefordshire
  • Shropshire
  • Telford & Wrekin

East Midlands

  • Rutland
  • Northamptonshire

East of England

  • Suffolk
  • Hertfordshire
  • Cambridgeshire, including Peterborough
  • Norfolk
  • Essex, Thurrock and Southend on Sea
  • Bedfordshire
  • Milton Keynes

London

  • London, including all boroughs and the City of London

South East

  • East Sussex
  • West Sussex
  • Brighton and Hove
  • Surrey
  • Reading
  • Wokingham
  • Bracknell Forest
  • Windsor and Maidenhead
  • West Berkshire
  • Hampshire (except the Isle of Wight)
  • Portsmouth
  • 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

There are only a handful of areas in England where the restrictions are at tier one but they do include Cornwall, the Isle of Wight and Isles of Scilly.

Woman with face mask loading car after shopping while covid-19.

Credit: Getty

Health Secretary Matt Hancock was expected to announce that most of the country would be placed under tiers two and three after the national lockdown ended on December 2. It comes after a further 696 people died from coronavirus on Wednesday November 25 and positivity rates have increased in the East Midlands, with the highest numbers actually seen in Yorkshire, The Humber, the North West and North East. More people also are growing concerned that lockdown will be extended until March 2021 at the least, as the furlough scheme continues. 

However, the most recently data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) suggests that the virus is showing “signs of levelling”. The ONS suggest that one in 85 people in England had coronavirus in the week of November 15 to November 21 but this was compared to 80 people the week before. 

Positivity rates also seem to be on the decline in north-west England, while the West Midlands, East of England, London and south-east and south-west of England are also showing a decrease in positive rates. 

Although with these harsher restrictions imposed, as advised by the government’s SAGE committee, it’s thought that the infection level could be brought down over the coming months. This, along with the introduction of various coronavirus vaccines, sets England and the rest of the UK up positively. 

Speaking ahead of the announcement of the tiers, Prime Minister Boris Johnson was optimistic about the measures. He said, “The selflessness of people in following the rules is making a difference.” 

He commented that the increase in new cases is “flattening off” in some areas after the national second lockdown but we are “not out of the woods yet” with the virus which he confirmed was “both far more infectious and far more deadly than seasonal flu”

“But with expansion in testing and vaccines edging close to deployment, the regional tiers system will help get the virus back under control and keep it there.” 

Localised lockdown list: which areas are still at risk?

view of London with red buses

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Currently all areas considered to be at risk are either in tier two or three of lockdown but with cases continuing to rise in some parts of cities like London, which is currently in tier two, there is every chance that more cities could become at risk in the coming months.

The system will be reviewed every two weeks as confirmed by the health secretary, so regions have the chance to be moved from tier three down to tier two or even to tier one - but it can also happen the other way around. 

Those in tier one can be moved upwards and many probably will be, as few regions have been put in the ‘medium’ risk tier to begin with. The fight will come from tier two regions who don’t want to be moved into tier three as restrictions are much stricter, however, this could happen. 

Alongside further funding into businesses put into higher levels of restrictions, the government has confirmed that there will be an insistence on testing under the new tier system coming into place from December 2. This could include community testing in many areas, which so far has only taken place in Liverpool. 

Boris Johnson confirmed in his speech to the House of Commons on Monday November 23 that those who actively take part in the testing programmes are likely to see themselves out of high level restrictions quicker than those who don’t. 

What tier will Lancashire be in after lockdown?

Lancashire is set to go into tier 3 localised lockdown restrictions when the lockdown is lifted on December 2.

This was expected though, as it was thought that Lancashire would ask that Preston, Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Hyndburn, Rossendale and Pendle to be placed in the highest tier. They were just some of the areas that experienced record high levels of coronavirus when the localised lockdowns were first put into place. Blackburn with Darwen, along with Pendle stayed at the top of the list for most infections per 100,000 people for weeks with Rossendale not far behind. 

It’s thought that the decision to put Lancashire into this tier was made by politicians and local public health bosses without a formal vote, during a meeting of all 15 Lancashire leaders on Thursday morning. 

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What tier will Derby be in after lockdown?

Derby and Derbyshire will be in tier 3 restrictions when lockdown is lifted in early December, even though it was previously in tier 2.

For Derby to be put under such harsh restrictions again would suggest that this spiking rate of infection had not been kept down during the most recent set of national lockdown restrictions. 

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What tier will Kent be in after lockdown?

Kent, much like Derby and Lancashire, will be entering tier 3 localised lockdown when the lockdown ends on December 2.

The announcement comes after some controversy however, as a group of MPs from Kent called on the government to impose the new tier lockdown restrictions on smaller areas rather than the entire county. This is because some parts of the area have the highest Covid-19 case rates in England while other parts have a very low rate. 

Scientists disagreed with this thinking after the latest hospital data from Kent suggested that the number of people in hospital with Covid-19 in Kent rose from 40 to 367 in just one month. 

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What tier will London be in after lockdown?

London will be in tier 2 when the lockdown ends on December 2.

Ahead of the announcement, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said that it would be “catastrophic” for London’s economy if the capital was placed under tier three restrictions so many people, businesses and shops who will be able to continue trading under the rules will be very happy with this news today. 

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What tier will Manchester be in after lockdown?

It will come as no surprise to those living in Manchester that Greater Manchester will be under tier 3 restrictions from December 2.

The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham previous fought with the government when they first wanted to put Manchester into tier 3 restrictions but this time he said it was “more likely than not” that the city and surrounding areas would be going back into tier 3, the highest level of restrictions. 

It comes after case rates have fallen in the region but other key tier deciders, such as the infection rate in over 60s, remain high. 

What tier will Birmingham be in after lockdown?

Much like other areas of the Midlands, Birmingham is going under tier 3 localised lockdown restrictions after lockdown ends in December.

Birmingham’s tier status, much like London and Manchester’s, was reported before the announcement so the tier 3 restrictions will come as no surprise to some. 

The city’s MP, Liam Byrne said that the local politicians were prepared to “fear the worst”. He added, “The government set out five different metrics, without setting out the thresholds for each or how they were weighted, but we agreed we need a plan for the worst and ensure the economic support that our city and region need is there.” 

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What tier will Suffolk be in after lockdown?

Suffolk will go into tier 2 when the lockdown ends in December, despite their previous place in tier one.

Previously Suffolk and Essex were in the lowest level of localised lockdown restrictions, but just before the national lockdown was enforced again in England, cases jumped in many areas. But Dr Dan Poulter, MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich said that he believed the region’s “very rapid action” at beating the area’s outbrakes had been effective and that the now-low infection rate means they should not face harsher restrictions. 

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Scotland lockdown: What are the rules?

Over two million Scottish people found themselves in the harshest level of Scotland’s four tier system on Friday November 20 as 11 local authorities had to shut non-essential shops and all businesses but schools were allowed to stay open. 

Coming to an end on December 2, much like England’s lockdown restrictions, the lockdown in Scotland is thought to take place before their own Christmas rules come into place. 

These are the tier 4 lockdown rules for Scotland:

  • People must “stay at home” wherever possible. 
  • Indoor household mixing is not allowed, except for caring purposes. 
  • Outdoor household mixing is allowed in public spaces with a limit of up to six people. 
  • All non-essential shops and hospitality venues have to close. 
  • Hairdressers and other personal care services have to close. 
  • Everyone who can is advised to work from home. 
  • All non-essential travel is prohibited in or out of level 4 areas. 
  • Gyms and leisure centres are closed, with outdoor sport limited to non-contact games. 
  • Informal childcare is allowed for children of key workers only and formal childcare is subject to “targeted intervention”. 

These are the restrictions across the local authorities of Glasgow, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, East and West Dunbartonshire, North and South Lanarkshire, East and South Ayrshire, Stirling and West Lothian. 

Wales lockdown: Will there be restrictions before Christmas?

Cardiff city centre as tighter coronavirus restrictions considered for Wales ahead of Christmas

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Wales came out of their circuit breaker lockdown in November but with rising cases and other neighbouring nations taking on new restrictions, Wales might enter another version of lockdown from December 2. 

It’s not been confirmed by the government but according to reports, it’s likely that the country will impose restrictions similar to the tier 3 measures seen in England. But instead of it being a localised lockdown approach, the whole country will take on similar restrictions. 

Health Minister Vaughan Gething said, "We're starting to see in some parts of Wales, a rise in coronavirus rates, so we need to get to the festive season and that may mean we look to potentially think about the measures Scotland has introduced as well as England, where they have a tiered system that largely compliments each other."

Northern Ireland lockdown: What are the lockdown rules?

Northern Ireland is the latest part of the UK to enter a coronavirus circuit breaker, coming into effect at midnight on Thursday. The restrictions will start on November 27 and last until December 11. 

The aim of the short, sharp lockdown is to slow the spread of coronavirus in Northern Ireland and protect the health service. First Minister Arlene Foster said, “It is clear that a tough, carefully timed, intervention is required to give us the best chance to have a safe and happy Christmas and further into the new year period," 

These are the rules for Ireland’s circuit breaker lockdown:

  • All non-essential shops must close, except for off-licenses which will stay open until 8pm. 
  • All close-contact services including beauticians and hairdressers have to close. 
  • All pubs, restaurants and other hospitality venues must close, except for takeaway and delivery. 
  • Gyms, leisure centre and entertainment venues including soft play areas and swimming pools must close. 
  • Only elite sporting events are allowed to take place along with individual or household outdoor exercise. 
  • No social mixing between households or support bubbles in any case. 
  • Places of worship will close, with exceptions for weddings and funerals of 25 people. 
  • Apart from those going to school or university, everyone else must work from home.

So while these localised lockdown measures are in place in certain areas across the UK, with rates of infection changing every week, it’s thought that everyone could be in a different situation by Christmas and into the new year when new rules come in place.

Grace Walsh
Features Writer

Grace Walsh is a health and wellbeing writer, working across the subjects of family, relationships, and LGBT topics, as well as sleep and mental health. A digital journalist with over six years  experience as a writer and editor for UK publications, Grace is currently Health Editor for womanandhome.com and has also worked with Cosmopolitan, Red, The i Paper, GoodtoKnow, and more. After graduating from the University of Warwick, she started her career writing about the complexities of sex and relationships, before combining personal hobbies with professional and writing about fitness.