PARTS of the south west will move into tighter Tier 4 restrictions from Boxing Day - amid reports of a "highly concerning" new Covid-19 variant in the UK.

The new measures, announced by the Government this afternoon, will see Hampshire including Southampton move into Tier 4 on December 26.

The New Forest will be moved to Tier 3.

It comes as Health Secretary Matt Hancock led a press conference this afternoon.

Changes will come into effect at 00.1am on Boxing Day.

It is understood that Dorset remains unaffected by the new rules.

However, as reported earlier today, the latest rolling seven-day coronavirus case rate has almost doubled for both the BCP and Dorset Council areas compared to seven days ago.

It comes as a "highly concerning" new variant of the Covid-19 virus which is believed to spread easier than the mutant strain that resulted in the creation of the new Tier 4 restrictions has been discovered in the UK, Matt Hancock has said.

The variant, believed to be behind an increase in cases in South Africa, has been discovered in two people in the UK thought to be contacts of those who travelled between the two countries in the last few weeks.

The Health Secretary told a Downing Street press briefing that the discovery would result in urgent new quarantine rules for recent visitors from South Africa.
Mr Hancock said: "This new variant is highly concerning because it is yet more transmissible and it appears to have mutated further than the new variant discovered in the UK."

He announced a range of new measures intended to reduce the strain spreading further, including placing the two people known to be infected with the South African strain into quarantine.

He added: "Anyone in the UK who has been in South Africa in the past fortnight and anyone who is a close contact of someone who has been in South Africa in the last fortnight, must quarantine immediately.

"They must restrict all contact with any other person whatsoever."
He said the measures would be "temporary" while the new strain is investigated at Porton Down laboratories.

The "UK" strand of the coronavirus is believed to have mutated randomly in Kent as early as September, and prompted the Prime Minister to abandon the proposed relaxation of restrictions over Christmas.

Latest figures suggest the South African strain was behind a record number of people being hospitalised there.

Summary: Tier 4 rules

Non-essential shops, gyms, cinemas, hairdressers and bowling alleys will be forced to close for two weeks – while people will be restricted to meeting one other person from another household in an outdoor public space.

People in Tier 4 will be told they should not stay away from home overnight and people from outside will be advised not to visit Tier 4 areas.

Tier 4 residents are also advised not to travel abroad unless essential.

Exemptions to the “stay at home” message which applied in the November lockdown, will also apply in the new Tier 4 – including support bubbles, childcare bubbles and children whose parents are separated.

People will be allowed to travel for education, childcare and to go to work if they cannot work from home and they will be permitted unlimited outdoor exercise.