ST HELENS will discover on Thursday which tier level it is being placed into after Boris Johnson confirmed that the current national lockdown restrictions will be lifted next week.

In a speech to the House of Commons, via video call, the Prime Minister confirmed that the current blanket lockdown will be lifted on December 2, with the country returning to a three-tiered system.

Shops and gyms will be allowed to reopen and people will once again be allowed to mix with other households in public settings providing they are in groups of no more than six (the rule of six).

But, the PM said that restrictions in the highest tier settings needed to be much stricter this time around.

An announcement will be made on Thursday confirming the initial tier of each local authority across the country.

The Liverpool City Region was in Tier 3 (very high risk) before the current lockdown was enforced but it is hoped that falling infection rates will see the combined authority reclassified into a lower tier this week.

In his speech, Mr Johnson set out some high-level guidelines for each tier:

  • Tier 1 - People should try where possible to work from home.
  • Tier 2 - Pubs will only be able to reopen if they are able to serve a substantial meal to customers.
  • Tier 3 - Pubs and restaurants to remain closed.

The PM also announced that spectators would be finally allowed to return to sporting events, using the following system:

  • Tier 1 - Maximum 4,000 spectators outdoors / 2,000 indoors
  • Tier 2 - Maximum 2,000 spectators outdoors / 1,000 indoors
  • Tier 3 - Continued ban on spectators

The criteria for each tier will be based on a blend of key factors, focusing on local area case numbers, reproduction rate (R number) and the level of pressure local NHS services are currently placed under.

The tier system is expected to last until March, with reviews conducted every 14 days.

Hospitality rules have been tweaked for Tier 1 and 2 areas. Previously pubs needed to shut at 10pm. Now they can call last orders at 10pm with final closing time 11pm.

The PM praised the mass testing system currently in operation in Liverpool and said that it had contributed to a "very substantial reduction in infections".

As a result, similiar mass testing will be introduced across all new Tier 3 areas announced on Thursday, with a six week surge of testing.

If the tier three testing programme is successful it will then be rolled out across the rest of England in January.

There was also better news for care homes as Mr Johnson revealed a plan that he said would finally allow people to "hug and hold hands instead of waving at each other through a window".

Lateral flow testing is to be introduced into care homes and as of today, care workers who are looking after people in their own homes will be able to be tested weekly.

By the end of the year, each care home resident will be able to have two visitors, who will be tested twice a week.

Unlike the previous tier system, where rules differed from area to area in the same tier, the restirictions in each tier will now be uniform across the country.