The Isle of Wight will be forced into tough Tier 4 restrictions from 00:01 tomorrow morning (Thursday – New Year’s Eve), Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced this afternoon (Wednesday).
Today’s news will come as a blow to many businesses who have been struggling to stay afloat with non-essential retail, personal beauty care, leisure facilities and entertainment venues now being ordered to close to join hospitality venues and accommodation providers already closed under Tier 3.
For a long time, the Island remained one of the only areas in the country to fall under Tier 1 restrictions but in just a matter of weeks, restrictions have jumped to Tier 3 and again now to Tier 4.
Under Tier 4 restrictions, you can only leave home for essential activities, education, exercise or to work, if you are unable to work from home. You should not meet anyone outside of your household unless they are in your support bubble, or you are meeting in a public outdoor space with 1 other person. Islanders should not leave the Island and overnight stays are not permitted.
Full details on what Tie 4 means can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tier-4-stay-at-home.
In Tier 4:
• You must stay at home as much as possible.
• You must not meet anybody from outside your household or support bubble in any indoor setting.
• Groups of 6 can no longer meet.
• You can meet 1 person from outside of your household or support bubble outdoors; while maintaining social distancing.
• You can leave home to exercise outdoors.
• People can travel for work only if they cannot work from home.
The Isle of Wight will join other parts of Hampshire in becoming Tier 4 from 00:01 on 31st December.
The police can take action against you if you meet in larger groups. This includes breaking up illegal gatherings and issuing fines (fixed penalty notices). You can be given a Fixed Penalty Notice of £200 for the first offence, doubling for further offences up to a maximum of £6,400. If you hold, or are involved in holding, an illegal gathering of over 30 people, the police can issue fines of £10,000.
UPDATE @ 15:10 – Isle of Wight Council leader Dave Stewart has said:
“Sadly, our case numbers have risen rapidly just prior to the Christmas period; far faster than at any other point throughout the pandemic.
“All of the good work we have been doing to protect our Island community from this virus seems to have been undone in a very short space of time, which goes to show how dangerous this virus is. We cannot let our guard down for a moment.
“Sadly it seems that some in our community have forgotten this, but I hope that this change of tiers will serve as a reminder to them not to act selfishly and follow the guidance. You may gamble that you might only get a mild infection, but are you willing to gamble you won’t pass it on to the person you are sitting beside and that they will not get the infection in a far more serious way?
“The highest level of restrictions is now upon us with Tier 4 – a mere week or so since we were in Tier 1, the lowest level.
“Please, keep the Island safe – keep your friends, family and loved ones safe – stay at home.
“We all have high hopes for 2021, with the vaccine being rolled out and the promise of some normality returning, let’s bring the New Year in sensibly and positively, by doing the right thing; protecting our community, friends, families, neighbours and most vulnerable people on the Island by staying at home one more time. We’ve done it before, we can do it again, and as we’re seeing elsewhere in the country, it slows the transmission of the virus.
“I am again really disappointed for all of our local businesses that have worked so hard with us to operate in a Covid-secure way. We are expecting further news of business grants to be available from next week which we will rollout as soon as we are able to those local businesses who need support.
“We must get infection rates down if we are to make the best of 2021 and the year ahead. Taking personal responsibility and making good choices continues to be the best way to protect yourself and those you love from the virus. We must all take action to protect each other and our hospital capacity.”
Simon Bryant, the Island’s director of public health, adds:
“We must bring the number of cases on the Island under control. We must be very cautious with what we do. You must stay at home.
“Please, for the safety of the Island, do not flout the rules or bend them to suit what you want to do. I know that this is a lot to ask and it is hard for people who want to see friends and family on New Year’s Eve – but please don’t meet up in person. We have the power to slow the spread of the virus through our own behaviours – it’s people and close contact the spread COVID-19 and why we’ve seen our cases rise – please make the right choice and stay at home.
“If you have symptoms, self-isolate – do not leave your home for any reason at all – and book a test. Test slots are released daily. The best time to book a test is around 8am or 8pm each day on the government website or by calling 119. You can also book home testing kits if you’re unable to get a test at the testing site.
“Remember, around one in three people with Covid-19 have no symptoms so could be spreading the virus without realising.”
Bob Seely MP has said:
“Clearly, moving to Tier Four is disappointing, but due to the new and more infectious strain of Covid, there is little alternative, especially with pressures on St Mary’s increasing.
“The likelihood is that the Island will be under heavy restrictions until at least the end of February. The good news is that the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine has today been approved. From next Monday it will begin to be rolled out. Combined with the other vaccine, that will mean that millions of people across the UK, and thousands of Islanders, will be vaccinated every month. Come the Spring, we should start the return to a more normal living.”
COVID-19 helpline available
Support is available to those who need it through the council’s COVID-19 helpline – 01983 823600.
This helpline is for anyone who needs help because of self-isolation, who is alone with no local network of friends, family or neighbours and needs support, or who feels vulnerable and may need assistance with help to access pharmacy medication delivery services and healthcare needs, access to online shopping delivery services or small essential shopping requests and signposting to partner agencies for support with issues arising from isolation including welfare, finance, mental health, childcare issues, crisis advice and support or other caring responsibilities.
Wonderful.
comes as no surprise. Perhaps the politicians should consider taking pay cuts themselves and see how they like being on a reduced income.
Thank the ferry companies, from the minute places were put into tier 4 they rammed full their ferries to the island with no checks , restrictions or concern for anyone but themselves and their pockets . If the people who are given the responsibility to make decisions had allowed people to stay in their vehicles from day 1 then the island would still be a relatively safe place to be !
I wonder why we have gone from T1 to T3 into T4
Would it have anything to do with the abundance of second home owners flooding our isle on the 19th!!!!
I am so sorry for all the struggling businesses out there trying to survive.
Shame on anyone who travelled here to be in T1 – this is what your selfishness has done to our isle….
Well done Scilly Isle .Pity we could not have done the same instead of coach’s being allowed over. The echo reported before Christmas that the ferries were flooding the Island. Business could still be open, St Mary’s would not be under so much pressure but no there was no control of mainlanders visiting the Island.
Well, are we surprised. The island seems to have been open house for months. The Solent is a natural barrier, or could have been. The drawbridge should have only been lowered for essential workers and supplies, not for people over for a jolly. Still a bit late now.
I hope that the island businesses get all the help that they need from the government and the council. So support them when you can, coz it must be bloody hard. Keep working together, and stay safe
Dave Bob and the ferry companies and the police you all have a lot to answer how easy it would of been to stop them coming over in the 1st place .The message was you shouldnt sleep away from home . But the ferry companies just wanted to GRAB the money
Thank goodness for all the Beryl e-scooters that the IW council have permitted so that our youth may continue to pass on the virus now that they can no longer congregate in groups of 6.
As if it’s not bad enough trying to dodge joggers, and people riding bikes on the pavement, you now have to try and dodge them too, seem so many recently, quite a few riding on pavement which is supposed to be forbidden.
Happy New Year Isle of Wight. Thanks, visitors, for being so community-spirited.
If the corona virus infections are increasing at the rate suggested it is imperative that all those on the island who wish to receive the vaccine are vaccinated as soon as possible. With just 144,000 living on the island, in essence we are a captive audience and virus infections could easily overwhelm St Mary’s, our one and only hospital.
Dave Stewart and IOW tourism encouraged visitors to come when we went into tier 1 , now he has the nerve to blame us. He needs to take a long hard look at himself, and have the guts to admit the part he has played in this.
Don’t really care tbh
KNOW IT ALL
“Would it have anything to do with the abundance of second home owners flooding our isle on the 19th!!!!”
Answer …..NO it wouldnt.
Isle of Wight Council are to Blame
They allowed Tier 4 and Tier 3 persons to visit the Island!
Wightlink should be heavily fined for going in and out of tier 4 into tier 1 individuals can get fined for it so why can’t wightlink
So from midnight does that mean there should be no second home owners or holiday makers here.
i note the number of deaths reported on the tv today had a small note under it.. “death due to any cause within 28 days of a positive test”
hardly all related to covid then is it.
Well thank you to the buffoons who advertised the isle of wight as a safe place!!!!!!
Look where that has got us **** tier 4 .
So once again thank you all (not).
How many more islanders will die or suffer long covid ?????.
Jeez you still reading it ?????
Don’t like stop looking !!!!!!