The Government has announced that the Isle of Wight will fall into Tier 1 when the country exits lockdown next Wednesday and re-enters a tiered system, restricting the lives of millions of people.
Today’s news means that the Island has escaped the stricter measures of Tiers 2 and 3 thanks to the low number of infections here. The Isle of Wight is generally considered one of the safest places in the country in terms of COVID-19 and as a result, life is starting to return to normal here at a quicker pace.
The Island is 1 of just 3 places in the country to fall into Tier 1.
Tier 1 restrictions allow Islanders to meet up with family and friends again, both indoors and outdoors, and to enjoy pubs and restaurants – an important economic boost to local businesses in the run-up to Christmas.
As previously reported by Island Echo, the Rule of 6 will be relaxed for Christmas for a limited period of 5 days from 23rd December until 27th December inclusive. This will allow a maximum of 3 families to come together over Christmas dinner, or other festive activities.
What can we do in Tier 1?
Meeting friends and family
Maximum of 6 people indoors or outdoors, apart from with members of the same household or support bubble. Overnight stays are permitted.
Hospitality and Accommodation
Pubs and restaurants can re-open, but venues must offer table service only – last orders 22:00, to close by 23:00. All hotels, B&Bs etc. can re-open too.
Retail
All shops to re-open.
Hair and Beauty
All personal care businesses such as hairdressers and beauty salons can re-open.
Leisure and Entertainment
Gyms, leisure centres, cinemas, bowling alleys and other leisure/entertainment destinations can re-open.
Large Events
Sport, live performances and business meetings can resume at a maximum of 50% capacity or 4,000 people outdoors.
Work and Business
Everyone who can work from home should do so.
Weddings and Funerals
A maximum of 15 guests for weddings, wedding receptions and wakes. 30 people can attend a funeral.
Places of Worship
Open for worship but you cannot interact with more than 6 people.
The leader of the Isle of Wight Council has welcomed the news. Councillor Dave Stewart has said:
“Being in Tier 1 gives us back some more of the freedoms we have all battled to secure in everything we are doing to reduce the transmission of the disease. Having done this so well, these are freedoms we need to fight to retain so the key messages of hands-face-space continue to apply.
“Please continue to be careful about where you go, who and how you meet because although things are looking up, they can quickly change. Taking personal responsibility and making good choices continues to be the best way to protect your self and those you love from the virus.
“The gradual introduction of vaccines and testing in the coming months will assist us in this challenge, but I can only urge, it is what we all do will make the biggest difference.
“Let’s remember, there was life before the pandemic and all of the signs are hopeful that we can return to something of that life in 2021.
“That’s something I hold on to as a make my own plans to follow the guidelines and celebrate Christmas.
“We have all come too far to throw this opportunity now. So I encourage everyone to keep their eyes on the prize, do the right things, stay safe and make a good plan for next year.”
That’s good news.. Let’s all have a nice peaceful Christmas and New year while saying goodbye to this awful one..
Great news but why open the hotels and B&B’s. Surely that will only encourage people to come over ?
This pandemic has shown us how selfish some people can be, they will come here from higher tiers because it’s all about them and they have no regard for anyone else.
Look at rules. If you travel from a higher tier to a lower you have to follow the higher tier rules still. Though how that will work or be policed god knows!!
It won’t work or be policed, l imagine Cornwall will be facing the same situation as us.
Arguing about which tier you think you should be in is like arguing about which hut you think you should be in in your POW camp.
We were thinking of coming to IOW for New Year from Cambridge. We are in healthcare and need a break but we do worry that we will not be welcome because it is tier 2 here. We’d rather not come if we are going to upset people. We understand your concerns. Do you think that most people would rather we stayed away?
Yes indeed Mandy. I can see it all going tits up after Christmas. Maybe another lockdown to start 2021???
We were thinking of coming to IOW for New Year from Cambridge. We are in healthcare and need a break but we do worry that we will not be welcome because it is tier 2 here. We’d rather not come if we are going to upset people. We understand your concerns. Do you think that most people would rather we stayed away?
Great news, now to book a ferry, Seaview for Christmas for us.
Why can’t you travel by RIB and land at Seaview yacht club like everyone else?
You must be a real tight wad.
How am I supposed to get the Range Rover on my RIB ? Good grief man. And after a long drive from Manchester I’ll need a Costa on the Wightlink to pep me up.
Use the same secret sauce Ronald McDonald used when he built the great pyramid of Giza :o)
Unless you are travelling from the Isle of Sky or Cornwall to the IOW, you are not supposed to be leaving a Tier 2 or 3 area are you???????
I didn’t bother with a ‘thumbs up’ as I appreciated your irony immediately. Regards.
Excellent news.for.local.business, overall the island is good with rules and regulations, let’s hope the rest of the country can follow suit and try to get out of this pandemic together
If people now come to the island from higher tiers it must surely lead to more infections and god knows what’s going to happen after Christmas with the stupid idea of allowing greater freedom for 5 days.
Yes. Selfish, they don’t give a f*CK about us island residents and our low COVID numbers, just as long as they get to spend Christmas on the island.
Think you and Mandy should get married ,no don’t probably related anyway
That old inbred Isle of Wighters joke, it gets funnier each time, get some new material.
There seems to be hardly any real Isle of Wight people around these days anyway. Certainly most people I meet were not born here but just moved here from somewhere else up the country so the old inbred joke doesn’t even apply here anymore and hasn’t done for decades.
Tosser!!!! if you think so poorly of the people who live on the Isle of Wight (I am originally from the mainland) why do you come to the island? We really don’t need cretins with your mentality coming here. Stay away you are not welcome.
Quite right couldn’t agree more
That is right. Please go home as you agree with us. ‘Might save an awful lot of unpleasant behaviour on all sides when the mainland set lay down more rules for a county they ain’t from, and then true Islanders react in a manner akin to the proud Welsh who dealt with the holiday cottages of the week-end English. Regards.
Not sure threatening to burn peoples homes down ,1 st or 2 nd should be allowed on here ,doesn’t this page have a moderator
I think your behaviour and comments are unlawful threatening to burn down second home owners houses, and as the moderator has not deleted your comment, I shall bring this to the attention of the police
You are so rude and obviously have a low IQ.
Have you read such aloud of rubbish in your life….the island is getting back to normal is it f***our numbers are still rising and will keep rising especially after we come out of lockdown….we won’t be starting a good new year that’s for sure…bet there will be another lockdown jan/ feb
True, I would be happy with the new rules if I knew the ferry companies only allowed people come to the island that have a good reason. I expect the passenger ferries will be full of drunks getting their fix.
A trick to get us out spending over Christmas and NY sales, once over the truth, as with Summer hols easing, will tell a very different tale.
Let’s hope this will not rise after Christmas escape.
Absolute madness.
Well done Bob Seeley. Credit where credit is due. Thank you.
Public transport avoid busy times, OK so why do the kids hang about when school finishes early, but when I have to bus it for work it’s a free for all bundle.
Now we are recognised as an Island does this mean that people from Tier 2 and Tier 3 will be discouraged from travelling to lower Tier area’s or are we going to have to put up with them coming over here potentially bringing the virus with them !!
So one can drink in a Pub up to ten o clock order eight pints of beer at that time and can continue drinking to eleven o clock
That’s nothing new, happened all the time when closing times were 10.30 winter and 11.00 summer. Last orders 10 minutes before that and 10 minutes drinking up time then everybody out.
I can see the hovercraft being busy as Portsmouth fancy a beer with out having to buy food.
Yes that’s bound to happen. Spend £24 on a return and have to be on 8:15pm back to Portsmouth, that’s a great idea instead of spending a tenner on a pie and chips and drink all evening, I’m sure everyone is stupid enough to take that option
Go to weatherspoon spend all day there and what you save on the price of your beer pays for your hovercraft.
I’m a potential visitor from Cambridge and started to read this forum to see how people on the IOW feel about people coming over, before finalising my plans. I’m glad I did as I think I get the picture. It was a bit like that for us in Cambridge when we had hardly any cases (although at the hospital we were quite busy as we took patients in from other over stretched locations ) and then the students came back and brought a high level of infection. It would have been awful for them to have to study from home and our city owes a lot to it’s visitors. But we were nervous about it. That said, It’s a terrible thing not to feel welcome and to be judged harshly by people who don’t know you. But these are frightening times and no one is at their best when they are afraid. So we will give it a miss. Best wishes for the festive season and stay well.
At last someone with a bit of respect and common sense, everyone visiting when this is over will be welcomed.
The stupid thing about all this is that we are supposed to be grateful for them ‘allowing’ us to do this. If it wasn’t for the relentless television coverage none of us would know that a ‘pandemic’ was even happening!
Like ALL of my friends, family and neighbours are already doing I will be ignoring ALL of the rules.
1) Give me absolute proof that ANY of these measures work and I will TOTALLY comply.
2) Give me a cost/benefit analysis that shows the true implications, including lost cancer treatment, mental health and how much this is costing financially.
Time to break out of your cave and join the real world, it’s a shame we can’t post links in here or I would give you your proof.
Perhaps they should allow people like you to visit the people who are seriously ill and dying and you can tell them to their face that you are one of the people that put us all at risk
Hi. Soo with you arnie.all the thumbs down are from the scaremongered sheep anyWay.shame you all dont see it.tv has done it too you all.gov s been lying on numbers.yep ..is a fact sheep peeps.your willing too lose you freedom and rights? Go for it then.!long as you take care and we make OUR OWN decisions, life goes on as do viruses .as lets be clear…cancer and flue are way more higher in deaths anyhow so do your research dont be gullable
What an absolute muppet.
Tier system based on football leagues – income ahead of health. This is levelling up by the tories bring UP the infection rates. Remember they will not extinguish the virus whilst they want to test the vaccine and earn the UK more MONEY!
There are some notable ‘areas’ that don’t get a mention above especially in health. For example, can Dentist now get on with routine checks etc
With intrepidation tier one,one can only hope January &February don’t see an increase to what we have at present.
I fear we will Phil. Numbers of infections will rise again after Christmas……..here comes another lockdown in the new year.
Can someone organise a Christmas music festival please, so 4000 of us can party
I’ll be up for that!… Don’t live life in fear people
Instead of posting rubbish comments why don’t you actually look up the answers people from Portsmouth won’t be bothering to jump on a ferry to come over for a drink – idiots
Can I travel from tier 2 to tier 1?
Yes, travelling from a tier 2 “High Alert” area to a tier 1 “Medium Alert” area is permitted.
However, you must continue to follow tier 2 rules even when in a tier 1 area. This means no socialising with anyone you do not live with or who is not in your support bubble in any indoor setting, whether at home or in a public place.
Is this rule correct? We are due to come to the island on the 8th from East Sussex, tier 2. I thought it wouldn’t be allowed
As Fred says you still have to stick to your tier rules when you come over here even though you can come from tier two to our tier one – it was on the BBC news earlier so if you watch tonight all will be clear.
Yes it is but you have to still follow 2 rules so if you’re coming to visit people you won’t be allowed to be indoors etc
As I’ve said before, people will come from higher tier areas without a thought for anyone else, you won’t be the only one.
Do what you want .it’s a free country .
Do you really need to come to the island Susan James? If not maybe show some respect for others and leave it six months.
Sorry, but I wish it would not be allowed.. as you cannot mix with people in tier one.. so why come ? Stay home, stay safe…
Okay, so you live in tier 2 or 3 and travel to Isle of Wight… who is going to know or keep checks on you?? Would be nice if the ferries could stop non islanders from coming over, but they cannot, they just want money money money.. sod the people.. doubt many police will be here either, they will be too busy in rest of Hampshire..
Indeed. We really are living under a fascist government right now.
What a joke. We have had more cases her in the just over a month than we did when back in February march and the cases are still going up. The council have no idea. Open it all back up yet again well done you get a pat on the back. Its them being unfair and don’t care about us really on the island. And as for a the vaccination I will not be taking that. I would like to know how they came up with it? So I would like to know why can’t they find a cure for cancer
Well normen……theyve no cure for cancer ..parkinsons..ms…beacause a cure means less pharma money can be made!yes its strange you can get these many covid vaccines all sudden huh.i for 1 will defo not tske no rushed through vaccine for whats a 98%recovery anyway.madness.iv got ms and noone with it has been tested for 10 years too tell me it’s safe and wont make my life even more shit.hell no.
Thumbs diwn???Lol What a bunch of
Scaremongered fools you are then huh.the gov numbers now are false .get with the true programs will ya
True programmes, you mean the one that tell us that the virus has been generated in China in cooperation with Bill Gates so that they can inject us micro chips to control us and turn us into robots, true, it was on the internet so it must be true.
Let’s just be grateful that we can go down the pub again, with or without the Cod and Chips, and if everyone acts sensibly, it will stay that way. Let’s also hope that those in other areas stay at home as much as possible and try to drive their local rates down so that they can enjoy similar freedoms, and don’t head off for short breaks on the Island or in Cornwall.
There should be higher tiers for areas like Ryde where there are more people disregarding the rules, usually the rough aggressive types, you know who I mean.
I wasn’t aware the island had “fallen” into tier one? What tier have we fallen from??
Shame the Oxford vaccine has now been slated by the U.S.
They gave the wrong dose to trial patients, yet, ironically those who had HALF the intended dose did far better. But they were all the under 50’s so, the US has said the fact that mistakes have been made by giving wrong doses in a critical trial means the UK’s vaccine is now discredited.
This could be true or could be because they wish to have theirs accepted.
The poor nations will likely buy ours as it is cheap, assuming that all the inhabitants have not left for Europe by then.
The US are only trying to grab drug sales for themselves
Theirs is more expensive to manufacture and harder to store
Wouldn’t listen to a word the yanks say
Stop spreading miss information. Also go and learn how a virus works. Testing it on healthy young people is perfectly reasonable as they are just seing if it prevents infection. The infection vector is the same what ever age you are and health states. Your age and health only comes into play once you have it.
If it was not made in USA they will always slate it.. USA thinks they are the best… sadly that is why they carry guns.. … they are not afraid… ! ha ha ha ha !!
We are very lucky but we should not have people from higher tiers allowed on the Island just like Wales . Obviously we need supplies and lorries must come over and people who work here and on the mainland must use the ferries but that should be the rules, please everyone still take care and follow the rules so we can prove it can be done,
Totally agree here stay safe
If you don’t want people travelling from other tiers, I assume you would be happy for any islander who leaves the island not to be allowed to return until the rest of the UK is in the same tier.
Omg all these comments, typical iow mentality! Too much tv and main stream media has frazzled you brains
It’s not typical I.o.w mentality, its the people that have lived on this nice island for years. It’s the isle of wight council that don’t give out the proper amount we have had in the past month or so has risen more than it first started, people being unfair not socially distancing in shops so just as well give up as there a like minded people who don’t care, but watch out for the cases to rise up even more now…
Great news we in tier 1,
But just abit worried that people on mainland with a second home here will come over with the permitted 3 family gathering for Xmas now,
third lockdown coming in February
Let’s party on then !!!! Woop woop woop
Sorry guys but you can’t just assume that mainlanders are going to come down and spread the virus.
My entire family live on the island and I haven’t seen them all year. I will be self isolating for 2 weeks before coming down to make sure I am as safe as possible and would hope people in higher tiers would do the same.
I live in a tier 3 location, in a small village where there is hardly any Covid cases whatsoever, unfair to tarnish everyone with the same brush. Not only that we own a business that has been unable to open most of this year due to being in high tiers (even though we live nowhere near a city centre)
Its not against the law, and it’s advisory only.
I will of course be keeping everyone I know safe as that’s the most important thing.
Good luck isolating on the ferries then, they’ll be heaving.
Getting enquiries now for people wanting rooms to stay in, didn’t take long. they need to stay at home and don’t risk us going up a tier, we are low risk let us stay low risk. Why have they got to panic to get away. Stay away.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news ,but if you think 2021 will be any different then 2020, then your more asleep then you realise! 2021 will start with lockdown 3, and continue fear for the bed wetters. Will only be able to do or go anywhere as long as you have been vaxed. No? Watch then! I said back in may 2020, a vax to travell.” Oh that won’t happen” ,” Mr justice just a conspiracy nut” . Really? Lol
I don’t think you are a conspiracy nut but you do come across as a negative, muck spreading scaremonger. Any chance you could provide a more helpful and optimistic comment every now and then? Well done for stating the obvious in that if rules are relaxed in the middle of winter and creates a further spike in cases we will probably go into a third lockdown in the new year, this is already old news.
Well sheep don’t see the obvious,so like everything else in their lives they need to be told. And as for scaremongering? If information for the sheep is scaremongering, perhaps they should stop reading and stay under the bed. Let’s see ALLCHIE what 2021 brings shall we!?
Mr Justice, you and your constant Sheep comments! Move to New Zealand will you. Give us all a break, was funny the first time I read your comments but 8 months on you are really boring. If you have nothing to add then stop spewing the same old, old, old, shite.
That’s fine it’s your opinion, I just wish I could see you face when the shit hits the fan, I would roar with laughter, because blind thick idiots like you have a major shock coming! And that’s my opinion!!
Yes, but you aren’t giving ‘information’. You insult and blame the general public and make long-shot negative baseless predictions. None have materialised, but hey, roll-on next year, and the next. That’s scaremongering in my book.
You obviously havent been on here long and saw my early posts, I have given all facts, and yes things I have said have materialised. I have an internal battle, 1. Try and shock people to wake up or 2. Watch them burn. And number 2 opition seems to be the better choice. Very sad.
Nothing you have predicted has materialised. Remember Australia? The plan for long term tyranny? You predicted all this would happen late summer. Yet now you are pushing your ‘something big’ rhetoric into next year. You can think what you like but taking it out on other commenters is both bad form and unhelpful.
Excuse me! I said vax to travel, look at the air lines now.! I’m not going to try and justify what I’ve said. As my last post said, I will take the second option and watch us all burn. Because it seems know one is interested in what COULD happen! And in my opinion proberly will. Oh and just a side note. Tyranny you said? Well what do you think we have now then !? Mmm?
That’s good news if people obey the rules but if today is anything to go by it won’t happen. People today travelled to their second home in my road from the mainland totally disregarding lockdown rules absolute plebs or what
I wonder how many islanders go to the mainlaind for Christmas and bring covid back with them but that’s none of my business really
The IoW council seem to be ignorant of their responsibilities to protect islanders. They are legally able to take proactive intervention to enforce any activity which may put Islanders at risk. As such they can and must stop ferries importing active Covid cases on to Island by monitoring the addresses of ferry bookings from tier 3 areas. Thus can be done!
Dave Stewart saying tonight that he hopes that people won’t flock to the Island because we are in tier 1 over Christmas is ridiculous. He has the legal powers to stop dangerous ferry passengers. Time to show real leadership and strength Dave.
http://www.//hse.gov.uk/lau/enforcement.htm
I am an Islander but I have to say I am getting really fed up with the same complaints about mainlanders and second homeowners coming over here and spreading COVID. During the first lockdown it was ‘they are all going to come over here breaking the rules and spreading’. When lockdown was lifted it was ‘you just watch now all the deaths that they will bring over here’, The same in lockdown 2 and now again over the festive season. Well, it never happened. We have stayed at one of the lowest National rates and now one of the few areas given Tier 1 status. Just continue to be sensible and stop treating non-Islanders as false pariah’s.
Keep those foreigners over that side of the water 😉
Second home owners can do one !!!
Well said. This mentality of people is nothing to do with covid either. It’s just Island mentality and its been the same for years. “We don’t want any overners over here” or, “You just watch all the people from Portsmouth and Southampton come flocking here”. It’s absolutely pathetic to listen to and it’s completely false. People have absolutely no reason to come here and if they wanted to be here, they already would be. The island has remained one of the lowest infected regions in the country but quick everyone, don’t forget to set up a blockade at the ferry terminals to stop the ‘flood’ of mainlanders coming over to spread the virus like wildfire! Shambles.
Exactly, people have a lot to say about mainlander but do not have the ba**s to do anything apart from hide under their desks and post useless comments. Get off your pathetic backsides and protest if you want change. Will you?? I think not! All mouth and no trousers. You are what makes this Island the socially inept place it is with no employment and absolutely no drive to take it forward.
Hear, hear, at last the voice of reason. What a breath of fresh air!!!
Stop all overners till easter.
Perhaps ferry prices will prove a barrier and they’ll go to Cornwall instead.
Shoppers in Tesco yesterday not adhering to social distancing. Stupid b*stards.
Well don’t go then, feet speak louder than words!
What a moaning lot you are over on the Island. Your MP fought to have you placed into tier 1 instead of being lumped in with Portsmouth. All I can see on here are negative comments. You should be thanking him. I will certainly enjoy my few weeks during December/January over there working from my holiday home. Cheer up and be thankful that you live on a beautiful island in tier 1.
I almost wish we were in tier three. You’d think there was no lockdown at all to see some of the lowlife who live in Ryde. I’d rather have people from the mainland coming over if they were more civilised and well behaved than many of the local trash, and i call them that because of how they behave, and it has to be said, most of them seemed to have moved here to live from elsewhere in the country, but I hope you can see what I’m saying.
It’s not where someone is from, it’s how they behave that counts and there are too many druggie types and alkky types living down here and maybe it’s like it all over the country nowadays but when you get so many of those types all crammed together in one small place, it’s like you can’t get away from them and it’s frightening and just as bad is the pathetic do good types who constantly defend them no matter what they do.
Perhaps Islanders will discourage mainlanders from coming over permanently. No tourism, no second home owners, no revenue for the Island. Cake and eat it springs to mind, narrow mindless, bigoted is another.
Everyone has a right to go and do what they want and not break the law……stay well away from people wear a mask…wash your hands and be careful if you dont feel yourself isolate…..if you cant handle doing that get your shopping delivered and hide under your mattress until the vaccines are Available..if second home owners want to come over let them…..I’ve seen 8 lorry drivers on redfunnel all sat together….there the ones delivering food to the island supermarkets where we all go……!
Hi everyone, I know you’ll jump on this but I want to come down to my holiday home as my rear garden is in dire need of my somewhat attention. I’ve got carrots and cucumbers flourishing into the next village. At the end of the day I am putting money into the economy so know one should complain about that really! After all it’s this part of the island that brings the likes of me, the wealthy, and the tourists, as other areas are somewhat unhealthy to visit. It’s nice to know we are welcome in Bembridge and how glad are we to escape the tier 3 as one can’t do anything let alone visit the holiday homes.
Us Islanders have done well.
Lets keep up what we are doing & not ruining our efforts so far.
Being old & shielded is not a good thing (have been since 1st lockdown.
Hope that the big Island folks stay there & they will be welcomed once this virus is under control.
Another problem will be Islanders going to Portsmouth & Southampton Christmas shopping, please think of the damage that would be done if infection is to stay low for us.
Other wise the R will rise & all the hard work done will be lost.
Wishing you all a safe Chistmas & no rise of R for new year.