Coronavirus: Toughest Tier 3 lockdown yet will hit Nottinghamshire from Friday
The whole of Nottinghamshire will go into Tier 3 lockdown on Friday and face the toughest restrictions yet to tackle coronavirus.
Nottingham City, Broxtowe, Gedling and Rushcliffe had already been preparing to enter Tier 3 at midnight tonight.
Instead, the remaining parts of the county - Ashfield, Bassetlaw, Mansfield, Newark and Sherwood - will go into the highest band of measures along with those already announced together on Friday at 12.01am.
Some restrictions appear to go further than any seen since the tier system was introduced, including a ban on shops selling alcohol after 9pm and the forced closure of saunas and steam rooms, tattoo parlours, tanning and nail salons.
Other measures mean:
Residents cannot socialise with anyone from outside their household or who they are in a support bubble with indoors or at most outdoor hospitality venues
People can meet with others they do not live with in groups of six in outdoor public spaces like parks or the countryside
All pubs and bars in the region must close unless they serve substantial meals
Ice skating rinks, cinemas, concert halls and theatres are the only indoor entertainment venues allowed to stay open
Hair dressers and barbers can carry on serving customers
The government is also discouraging non-essential travel outside the area apart from for work, education or caring responsibilities
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said infection rates are "rising sharply" across the county, so the new measures are needed "to stop this virus in its tracks".
"I want to thank local leaders for their continued support, and to extend my gratitude to the people of Nottinghamshire who have shown real resilience," he added.
Nottinghamshire's infection rates are among the highest in the country, according to Department of Health and Social Care.
The weekly case rate in the county is 364 per 100,000 people.
It is 239 per 100,000 in those over 60 but rises dramatically to 772 per 100,000 among those aged 17-21 years old.
Nottinghamshire will join Warrington as well as the Liverpool City Region, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and South Yorkshire in the highest coronavirus tier.
It comes after Nottingham hospital bosses said they had to cancel some cancer operations due to "pressure on intensive care units".
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust medical director Keith Girling said they had taken the "extremely difficult decision" to postpone four cancer operations this week.
Five days earlier, the trust said it would be postponing some appointments until 6 November due to a spike in coronavirus cases.
CEO Tracy Taylor said it had been a "difficult decision", but added there were more than 200 patients with COVID-19 in hospital in the city - and "everyday this is increasing by nearly another full ward of people".
Meanwhile, local leaders in West Yorkshire said talks on the area going into Tier 3 are "ongoing".
"We have not yet concluded these discussions at this point and we will continue tomorrow to get the best for our communities," a statement released by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority on Wednesday said.
A further 24,701 people have also tested positive for COVID-19 in the UK while 310 have died, according to the latest government data.
