Around 1.4 million people in South Yorkshire will face living under England’s toughest coronavirus restrictions, mayor Dan Jarvis has announced.
The move to Tier 3 will affect Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield and happen from 12:01am on Saturday.
Mr Jarvis revealed local leaders secured £41m of funding from the government “to support our people and businesses” hit by the change.
Local leaders have secured £41m of funding from the government
He said that “while infection rates vary” across South Yorkshire, “collective action was the only practical choice to keep everyone in our region safe”.
And Mr Jarvis added that “the number of people with COVID in our hospitals has doubled over the last ten days, with no signs this will relent over the coming weeks” so “inaction was not an option”.
But he promised that if the new restrictions work, individual councils will be able to move to lower alert levels and have restrictions eased “as soon as it is safe to do so”.
Ros Jones, the mayor of Doncaster, said she understood it would cause residents and companies concern, but cautioned: “There is an undeniable truth in that our infection rates are spiralling upwards.”
And South Yorkshire’s police and crime commissioner Dr Alan Billings said ministers had to communicate why the move was necessary.
He said: “The government need to understand that people will continue to observe the rules as long as they feel that what is being proposed is not just reactive, but part of a longer term strategy to defeat the virus.
“How the Tier 3 restrictions fit into that strategy needs careful, constant and consistent explanation.”
The change means residents are banned from mixing with other households indoors and outdoors, with pubs and bars force to close unless they can operate as restaurants and non-essential travel advised against.
It follows the government’s decision to impose Tier 3 – the highest band of measures to curb a COVID-19 second spike – on Greater Manchester from Friday.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is also expected to make a statement on South Yorkshire later today, according to Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick.
He told Sky News’ Kay Burley earlier that there’s a “serious” coronavirus situation there but that ministers and local leaders were “on the cusp of an agreement”.