Will Mansfield move down a tier in today's Government review?

The announcement, which is due to be made at 11.30am today, Thursday, December 17, comes after the Government meeting yesterday on any changes to what tier of restrictions different areas will be in over Christmas.

The town is currently subjected to Tier 3 lockdown measures, where pubs and restaurants are only allowed to operate as a takeaway and households are banned from mixing.

Health Secterary Matt Hancock is scheduled to address the House of Commons on the changes in the tier system today.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson laid out five new rules people should follow to stay safe over Christmas.

They included smaller celebrations, no travels between higher tiers and lower tiers, self isolation for five days before meeting other households, avoiding seeing the vulnerable and avoiding Boxing Day crowds.

What Tier are Mansfield and Nottinghamshire likely to be in?

However, it will be no surprise if the town stays in the strictest tier considering that it has recorded a surge in positive Covid-19 cases the past week.

According to the latest data released by Public Health England, Mansfield's infection rate stands at 194.9 per 100,000 people, with 213 cases in the seven days to December 11.

This means the cases have increased by 84 compared to previous data entry.

Ashfield also recorded an increase in its positive cases, bringing the total cases to 219 within the same period, 47 more from the previous week with an infection rate of 171.2 per 100,000 people.

Several towns in Nottinghamshire have also recorded a surge in positive cases including Newark and Sherwood, Gedling and Nottingham.

What are the Tier restrictions based on?

Ministers analyse the following data:

– case detection rates in all age groups;

– case detection rates in the over-60s;

– the rate at which cases are rising or falling;

– the number of positive cases detected as a percentage of tests taken;

– pressure on the NHS, including current and projected occupancy.