The city mayor has warned that imposing Tier 3 restrictions on Bristol would further destroy the hospitality sector.
Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset will be placed under tough action when the UK national lockout ends on December 2.
Areas were previously in Tier 1, which has very limited controls.
On Thursday, the UK government said the overall picture in the region was 325 cases per 100,000 people with “highest rates overall” and a positive rate of 10.4%.
Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset are part of a wider commute to work, thus forming a separate “natural geography group” for the surrounding area.
Under the restrictions, hospitality systems such as bars, pubs, cafes and restaurants are closed and sales can only proceed through takeaway, click-collection, drive-through or delivery.
Following the announcement, a spokesman for the Bristol City Council said Tier 3 operations were estimated to cost $ 2.8 million a month due to a lack of government funding to support businesses and vulnerable people.
Bristol’s Mayor Marvin Reese said: “It’s disappointing because our event rate drops below 400 and we can see that we’re going in the right direction and we’ve got the right to enter Tier 2, but the decision makers thought differently.
“We will continue to clarify to the government the extent of the financial need.
“We are not yet sure of the Universal Credit Payments, so we need that commitment.
“The government needs to be aware of the full extent of the financial impact.
“We expect a shortfall of $ 2.5 million a month in the amount we receive from the government and the increased demand and lost revenue we face as a result of being in Tier 3.”
I was not surprised to learn that the Bristol layer will be in the third until December 16th. We have fantastic local public health and NHS leaders and must follow the rules. However, we urgently need to look at economic support, especially with Bristol’s hospitality closed.
– Darren Jones MP (ardarrenpjones) November 26, 2020
One of the main reasons for Mr Reese’s recent increase in infection rates is that people go to each other’s homes when this is not allowed.
The infection rate in Bristol is now 390.2 cases per 100,000 people. In the last seven days, there have been 1,808 positive tests in the city.
Christina Gray, director of public health for Bristol, said: “This is a deadly virus and the damage it does to our hospitals and the lives of people, unfortunately some have died.
“At the same time the action we take to control the virus has other implications – people’s mental health and well-being, livelihoods and jobs.
“It simply came to our notice then.
“Our NHS has been under pressure for some time, and we increased several weeks ago.
“We did it not only because of the background rates of infection, but also because our hospital system is under pressure.”
Darren Jones, Labor MP for Bristol North West, called for “urgent” economic support for businesses in Bristol.
He said he was “not surprised” to hear that Bristol Tier 3 was subject to restrictions and that people should follow the rules.
“However, we urgently need to look at economic support, especially as Bristol’s hospitality sector is closed,” Mr Jones said.
Conservative MPs Liam Fox and John Benrose have questioned the decision to add North Somerset to Tier 3 because of its proximity to Bristol.
“On our own, North Somerset may qualify to be in Tier 2, but we are placed in Tier 3 because we consider it a ‘natural trip to the work area’ along with Bristol and South Gloucestershire,” the statement said.
“Bath and North East Somerset is in tier 2, which makes the decision even more unreasonable, even though it is part of nature to travel to the same work area.
“All of this comes at a much shorter time than usual for going to and from Bristol, because people are being asked to work from home.
“It simply came to our notice then. At the time of the review in 14 days, this pattern could be changed so that North Somerset could be treated to its own merit, so hard-working local businesses would not be penalized because of the high infection rates in Bristol. ”
