Eight local authorities in England will be moved up into the highest tier of its CCP virus alert system from Saturday, with a few moving down the tiers, Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced on Thursday.
The same goes for six local authorities in South East England: Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hastings and Rother, Hertfordshire, Surrey (excluding Waverley), as well as Gosport, Havant, and Portsmouth, which are one local authority.
Three local authorities are moving down a tier on Saturday, including Bristol and North Somerset in South West England, which are moving from Tier 3 to Tier 2; and Herefordshire from West Midlands, which is moving from Tier 2 to Tier 1.
He said the changes in the East and South East of England were necessary due to the increased number of cases and hospital admissions.
“In the South East of England, cases are up 46 percent in the last week. Hospital admissions are up by more than a third,” Hancock said.
“In the East of England, cases are up two thirds in the last week and hospital admissions are up by nearly half.”
Hancock said that the decisions on tiers are made based on five published indicators, including case rates, case rates amongst the over 60s, test positivity, rate of change, and hospital pressure.