A new 'very high alert' coronavirus tier has been announced for North Hertfordshire - including Royston - after neighbouring districts in Hertfordshire were moved into Tier 3 on Wednesday.

Matt Hancock has announced our area will be in Tier 3 from 00.01am on Saturday, December 19, alongside the rest of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.

However, our South Cambridgeshire villages such as Meldreth, Melbourn and Great Chishill will remain in Tier 2.

For North Hertfordshire, the case rates were 140 per 100,000 population up to December 12 - lower than England's average of 165.

There were 187 cases in the district between December, 6 and December 12. That's 53 higher than the previous week.

In total, there have been 1,885 cases of COVID-19 in North Herts, and 106 coronavirus-related deaths.

But in the surrounding South Cambs villages such as Meldreth or Melbourn, the situation is different.

In South Cambs, the COVID rate per 100,000 population is 98.7. In the past week, 255 people tested positive for COVID up to December 16, an increase of 159 (or 165.6 per cent) according to the Gov.uk website.

There have been 66 coronavirus-related deaths in South Cambs since records began.

The district will remain in Tier 2, or the 'high alert' while Royston - which falls under North Hertfordshire - will be a Tier 3 or 'very high alert' area.

Below are the measures that people must follow under Tier 3, ‘Very High Alert’:

  • People must not mix indoors or outdoors with people outside of their household, unless in a permitted outdoor space such as a park, where the rule of six applies.

  • Pubs, bars and restaurants would close and can operate a takeaway, drive-through or click and collect service only.

  • Hotels, B&Bs, campsites must close except for limited work or education reasons.

  • Indoor entertainment and tourist venues, including cinemas, casinos, bowling alleys, bingo halls, theme parks, must close.

  • Gyms and leisure facilities can open, but group exercise classes should not go ahead.

  • No crowds allowed at organised events, both indoor or outdoor.

  • Places of worship can remain open, but socialising and attending with those outside of your household is not permitted.

  • People should avoid all unnecessary travel and should reduce the number of journeys they make.

While in Tier 2 the following restrictions apply:

  • Different households must not mix indoors, except for support bubbles, and that pubs and bars will have to close, unless they operate as restaurants.

  • The whole of Hertfordshire is in Tier 2, only three areas in the whole country are in Tier 1 – Isle of Wight, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly.

  • Other restrictions in Tier 2 areas include: Hospitality venues can only serve alcohol with “substantial meals”.

  • Places of worship can still open, but interacting with anyone outside of your household is not permitted.

  • Crowds can attend socially distanced indoor and outdoor events, with up to 2,000 allowed for outdoor venues and 1,000 for indoor venues.

  • Residents from Tier 2 areas, must follow these rules even if they visit a Tier 1 area.