Matt Hancock says tier 4 restrictions are not ‘off the table’

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said on Monday morning that he will not rule out the new tier 4 restrictions.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Hancock said the government will “rule nothing out” on the prospect of a new tougher tier of restrictions.

Hancock said, “We’ve always said all along that we take nothing off the table.

“Having said that, we have seen the rise in the number of cases has slowed a bit.

“The problem is it’s still going up, and while it’s still going up we’ve got to act to get it under control.

“We rule nothing out but at the moment the three-tier system is what we’re working to and it’s effective in slowing the growth of this virus, but it hasn’t brought this curve to a halt.”

On Sunday inews reported that the new tier 4 system will most likely see non-essential shops and restaurants close in areas where the current tier 3 has failed.

Should the tier 3 alert system fail, civil servants are reportedly drawing up plans for a more severe “tier 4” system, which could come into force by mid-November.

The decision could be made as soon as mid-November, where three is sufficient data to gauge the effectiveness of the current three tier approach, Whitehall sources told the newspaper.