Covid: What is Tier 5 and could it be introduced in Sussex?

A senior Whitehall source told The Express that the government is "ruling nothing out" as "the new strain is of serious concern" and "Tier 4 appears to not be strong enough".

The source described the heightened measures as "another level on to Tier 4, so like a Tier 5".

Brighton during the first national coronavirus lockdown Credit: Simon Dack

But another Whitehall source told The Telegraph that the expansion of Tier 4 was more likely than the introduction of Tier 5 in the "immediate future".

There is currently no outline for what Tier 5 restrictions might include.

National newspapers have reported that it could be similar to the lockdown measures introduced in March, when schools and universities were closed - though minister for the cabinet office Michael Gove said yesterday that the government would "prioritise children returning to school".

• READ MORE: Significant rise in the coronavirus rates of all areas in Sussex, latest figures show

In March, unlike under Tier 4 restrictions, elderly and vulnerable people were forced to "shield" and people were not allowed to meet with other households in any indoor or outdoor setting.

Other measures in place during the initial national lockdown included the closure of playgrounds and the limiting of outdoor exercise to one session each day, with people also not allowed to travel to second homes.

The current tier restrictions in place across England Credit: PA Graphics

The tier each area of England is placed in is decided by the government after reviewing five factors:

– case detection rates in all age groups
– case detection rates in the over-60s
– the rate at which cases are rising or falling
– the positivity rate – the number of positive cases detected as a percentage of tests taken
– Pressure on the NHS, including current and projected occupancy

In the most recent figures, from the week leading up to December 23, there has been a significant rise in the number of coronavirus cases reported in all areas of Sussex.

The restrictions in place across London and the South East are set to be reviewed tomorrow, though Health Secretary Matt Hancock has stated previously that they are unlikely to be eased.

Speaking to Radio 4's Today programme this morning, professor of infectious diseases epidemiology at University College London and member of the Government's New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag) Andrew Hayward said he believed the UK was "entering a very dangerous new phase of the pandemic".

• READ MORE: Residents in Tier 4 flock to Hove seafront

To combat this, he called for "decisive, early, national action to prevent a catastrophe in January and February".

"A 50 per cent increase in transmissibility means that the previous levels of restrictions that worked before won't work now, and so Tier 4 restrictions are likely to be necessary or even higher than that," he said.

The Covid-19 growth rates in each region of England Credit: PA Graphics

"I think we're really looking at a situation where we're moving into near lockdown, but we've got to learn the lessons from the first lockdown."