Oxfordshire to Move into Tier 4
It has just been announced that Oxfordshire will move into Tier 4 at 00.01 on Boxing Day, ie one minute after Christmas Day has ended.
This follows sharp rises in reported infections across the County and also increased numbers of admissions at the hospitals.
Here’s what Tier 4 means for us:
- You cannot leave your house unless you have a “reasonable excuse”
- You cannot meet anybody indoors (including over the rest of the Christmas and the New Year period) unless you live with them or they are part of your support bubble
- Outdoors, you can only meet one person from another household in public places
- Non-essential retail will close unless they open for click-and-collect and delivery
- Hospitality venues will close unless they serve a takeaway, can operate as a drive-through or deliver
- Everyone must work from home unless they are unable to
- Personal care and beauty salons will close
- Gyms will shut
- Schools, colleges and universities will be open during the term-time
- Funerals of up to 30 people are allowed
- Wakes and other linked ceremonial events can continue in groups of six
- Weddings of up to six can continue in exceptional circumstances
- Indoor entertainment will be closed
- Places of worship will be open for private prayer and communal worship but people inside cannot interact with anyone outside of their household or support bubble
- Clinically vulnerable people are asked to stay inside where possible and should only leave the house to exercise or attend health appointments; they should not go to work
- You can visit relatives in care homes with Covid-secure arrangements like screens, visiting pods and window visits
- You can leave the house to exercise by yourself, with your household or support bubble or with one another person from another household
- Outdoor sport is allowed by gathering limit applies except for youth and disabled sport
- You must stay at home and only travel for work, education or other legally permitted reasons
- If you must travel, stay local
- Do not leave a Tier 4 area to stay overnight away from home
- Residents in Tiers 1-3 should not enter Tier 4 areas
Reasonable excuses include:
- for work if you cannot work at home
- to buy things at shops (eg food and medicine), or to go to banks and post offices
- to fulfil legal obligations (eg in lettings, voting)
- for education, including taking your children to school, childcare or under 18 physical activities
- existing arrangements remain for contact with parents who live apart from their children
- to visit people in your support bubble, to provide informal childcare for children under 13 as part ofa childcare bubble, or to provide care for vulnerable people, including providing emergency assistance and respite care
- to exercise outside or visit some public outdoor places, such as parks
- for medical reasons, appointments, emergencies, to avoid illness or injury (including domestic abuse) or for animal welfare reasons (eg visiting a vet)
- to visit someone in hospital or in a care home if permitted
- to attend a place of worship for communal worship, for funerals and weddings
- to move house
You can find more information about the tiers at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tier-4-stay-at-home