The three-tier system of local lockdown measures for England were first announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on October 12 and there have been some significant changes to the system since then with tier 4 introduced for London and the South East just a week before Christmas.

The 'traffic light' system means that different parts of the country are split into “medium”, “high”, “very high” and "stay at home" local coronavirus alert areas.

In tiers 1-3, the following businesses and venues can remain open

  • Essential and non-essential retail, including indoor and outdoor markets and car boot sales

  • Certain leisure and sporting facilities such as gyms, sports courts and facilities, leisure centres, fitness and dance studios, golf courses, swimming pools, riding centres, outdoor playgrounds. Indoor group activities and classes should not take place at tier 3

  • Personal care and close contact services such as hairdressers and barbers, beauty salons, tattoo parlours, nail salons, spas and beauty services, massage parlours and tanning salons

  • Public buildings, such as libraries, community centres and halls. They should not host events for private hire, such as birthday parties or most other social activities in tier 3

  • Allotments, recycling and waste centres, public toilets, car parks

  • Essential public services such as the NHS and medical services, courts, and jobcentre plus sites

  • Places of worship – communal worship can now resume, subject to relevant social contact rules in each tier

In tier 4, the following businesses and venues can remain open

This includes those providing essential goods and services, including:

  • Essential retail such as food shops, supermarkets, pharmacies, garden centres, building merchants and suppliers of building products and off-licences
  • Market stalls selling essential retail may also stay open
  • Businesses providing repair services may also stay open, where they primarily offer repair services
  • Petrol stations, automatic (but not manual) car washes, vehicle repair and MOT services, bicycle shops, and taxi and vehicle hire businesses
  • Banks, building societies, post offices, short-term loan providers and money transfer businesses
  • Funeral directors
  • Laundrettes and dry cleaners
  • Medical and dental services
  • Vets and pet shops
  • Animal rescue centres, boarding facilities, and animal groomers (may continue to be used for animal welfare, rather than aesthetic purposes)
  • Agricultural supplies shops
  • Mobility and disability support shops
  • Storage and distribution facilities
  • Car parks, public toilets and motorway service areas
  • Outdoor playgrounds
  • Outdoor gym, pools, sports courts and facilities
  • Golf courses
  • Archery/driving/shooting ranges (outdoors)
  • Outdoor riding centres
  • Places of worship
  • Crematoriums and burial grounds


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Here is the latest government guidelines on what all the restrictions in England mean

Tier 1: Medium alert

  • You must not socialise in groups larger than 6 people, indoors or outdoors, other than where a legal exemption applies. This is called the ‘rule of 6’

  • Businesses and venues can remain open, in a COVID secure manner, other than those which remain closed by law, such as nightclubs

  • Hospitality businesses selling food or drink for consumption on their premises are required to:

    • provide table service only, for premises that serve alcohol

    • close between 11pm and 5am (hospitality venues in airports, ports, on transport services and in motorway service areas are exempt)

    • stop taking orders after 10pm

  • Hospitality businesses and venues selling food and drink for consumption off the premises can continue to do so after 10pm as long as this is through delivery service, click-and-collect or drive-through

  • Early closure (11pm) applies to casinos, cinemas, theatres, concert halls, museums, bowling alleys, amusement arcades, funfairs, theme parks, adventure parks and activities and bingo halls. Cinemas, theatres and concert halls can stay open beyond 11pm in order to conclude performances that start before 10pm

  • Public attendance at outdoor and indoor events (performances and shows) is permitted, limited to whichever is lower: 50% capacity, or either 4,000 people outdoors or 1,000 people indoors

  • Public attendance at spectator sport and business events can resume inside and outside, subject to social contact rules and limited to whichever is lower: 50% capacity, or either 4,000 people outdoors or 1,000 people indoors

  • Places of worship remain open, but you must not attend or socialise in groups of more than 6 people while there, unless a legal exemption applies

  • Weddings and funerals can go ahead with restrictions on numbers of attendees – 15 people can attend wedding ceremonies and receptions, 30 people can attend funeral ceremonies, and 15 people can attend linked commemorative events

  • Organised outdoor sport, physical activity and exercise classes can continue

  • Organised indoor sport, physical activity and exercise classes can continue to take place, if the rule of 6 is followed. There are exceptions for indoor disability sport, sport for educational purposes, and supervised sport and physical activity for under-18s, which can take place with larger groups mixing

  • if you live in a tier 1 area and travel to an area in a higher tier you should follow the rules for that area while you are there. Avoid travel to or overnight stays in tier 3 areas other than where necessary, such as for work, education, youth services, to receive medical treatment, or because of caring responsibilities. You can travel through a tier 3 area as part of a longer journey

Tier 2: High alert

  • You must not socialise with anyone you do not live with or who is not in your support bubble in any indoor setting, whether at home or in a public place

  • You must not socialise in a group of more than 6 people outside, including in a garden or a public space – this is called the ‘rule of 6’

  • Businesses and venues can continue to operate, in a COVID-Secure manner, other than those which remain closed by law, such as nightclubs

  • Pubs and bars must close, unless operating as restaurants. Hospitality venues can only serve alcohol with substantial meals

  • Hospitality businesses selling food or drink for consumption on their premises are required to:

    • provide table service only, in premises which sell alcohol

    • close between 11pm and 5am (hospitality venues in airports, ports, transport services and motorway service areas are exempt)

    • stop taking orders after 10pm

  • Hospitality businesses and venues selling food and drink for consumption off the premises can continue to do so after 10pm as long as this is through delivery service, click-and-collect or drive-through

  • Early closure (11pm) applies to casinos, cinemas, theatres, museums, bowling alleys, amusement arcades, funfairs, theme parks, adventure parks and activities, and bingo halls. Cinemas, theatres and concert halls can stay open beyond 11pm in order to conclude performances that start before 10pm

  • Public attendance at outdoor and indoor events (performances and shows) is permitted, limited to whichever is lower: 50% capacity, or either 2,000 people outdoors or 1,000 people indoors

  • Public attendance at spectator sport and business events can resume inside and outside, subject to social contact rules and limited to whichever is lower: 50% capacity, or either 2,000 people outdoors or 1,000 people indoors

  • Places of worship remain open but you must not socialise with people from outside of your household or support bubble while you are indoors there, unless a legal exemption applies

  • Weddings and funerals can go ahead with restrictions on numbers of attendees – 15 people can attend wedding ceremonies and receptions, 30 people can attend funeral ceremonies, and 15 people can attend linked commemorative events such as wakes or stonesettings.

  • Organised outdoor sport, and physical activity and exercise classes can continue

  • Organised indoor sport, physical activity and exercise classes will only be permitted if it is possible for people to avoid mixing with people they do not live with (or share a support bubble with). There are exceptions for indoor disability sport, sport for educational purposes and supervised sport and physical activity for under-18s, which can take place with larger groups mixing

  • You can continue to travel to venues or amenities which are open, but should aim to reduce the number of journeys you make where possible

  • If you live in a tier 2 area, you must continue to follow tier 2 rules when you travel to a tier 1 area. Avoid travel to or overnight stays in tier 3 areas other than where necessary, such as for work, education, youth services, to receive medical treatment, or because of caring responsibilities.You can travel through a tier 3 area as a part of a longer journey

Essential guide to the new English tier system this Winter

Tier 3: Very High alert

  • You must not meet socially indoors or in most outdoor places with anybody you do not live with, or who is not in your support bubble, this includes in any private garden or at most outdoor venues

  • You must not socialise in a group of more than 6 in some other outdoor public spaces, including parks, beaches, countryside accessible to the public, a public garden, grounds of a heritage site or castle, or a sports facility – this is called the ‘rule of 6’

  • Hospitality settings, such as bars (including shisha venues), pubs, cafes and restaurants are closed – they are permitted to continue sales by takeaway, click-and-collect, drive-through or delivery services.

  • Accommodation such as hotels, B&Bs, campsites, and guest houses must close. There are several exemptions, such as for those who use these venues as their main residence, and those requiring the venues where it is reasonably necessary for work or education and training

  • Indoor entertainment and tourist venues must close. This includes:

    • indoor play centres and areas, including trampolining parks and soft play

    • casinos

    • bingo halls

    • bowling alleys

    • skating rinks

    • amusement arcades and adult gaming centres

    • laser quests and escape rooms

    • cinemas, theatres and concert halls

    • snooker halls

  • Indoor attractions at mostly outdoor entertainment venues must also close (indoor shops, through-ways and public toilets at such attractions can remain open). This includes indoor attractions within:

    • zoos, safari parks, and wildlife reserves

    • aquariums, visitor attractions at farms, and other animal attractions

    • model villages

    • museums, galleries and sculpture parks

    • botanical gardens, biomes or greenhouses

    • theme parks, circuses, fairgrounds and funfairs

    • visitor attractions at film studios, heritage sites such as castles and stately homes

    • landmarks including observation decks and viewing platforms

  • Leisure and sports facilities may continue to stay open, but group exercise classes (including fitness and dance) should not go ahead.

  • There should be no public attendance at spectator sport or indoor performances and large business events should not be taking place. Elite sport events may continue to take place without spectators

  • Large outdoor events (performances and shows) should not take place, with the exception of drive-in events

  • Places of worship remain open, but you must not attend with or socialise with anyone outside of your household or support bubble while you are there, unless a legal exemption applies

  • Weddings and funerals can go ahead with restrictions on the number of attendees – 15 people can attend wedding ceremonies, wedding receptions are not allowed, 30 people can attend funeral ceremonies, 15 people can attend linked commemorative events

  • Organised outdoor sport, and physical activity and exercise classes can continue, however higher-risk contact activity should not take place

  • Organised indoor sport, physical activity and exercise classes cannot take place indoors. There are exceptions for indoor disability sport, sport for educational purposes and supervised sport and physical activity for under-18s

  • You can continue to travel to venues or amenities which are open, but should aim to reduce the number of journeys you make where possible

  • Avoid travelling outside of your area, including for overnight stays other than where necessary, such as for work, education, youth services, to receive medical treatment, or because of caring responsibilities. You can travel through other areas as part of a longer journey

Tier 4: Stay at Home

The restrictions are similar to the last national lockdown in England, in November. They include:

  • Residents should stay at home, unless they have a "reasonable excuse" such as work or education
  • All non-essential retail will have to close, along with hairdressers, nail bars, and indoor entertainment venues
  • Gyms and indoor swimming pools, indoor sports courts and dance studios must close
  • No-one in tier four will be allowed to join Christmas Day bubbles in tiers one to three
  • You cannot meet other people indoors, unless you live with them or they are part of your support bubble
  • People should not leave tier four areas or travel abroad, except in limited circumstances (including work and education)
  • Weddings and civil partnership ceremonies are not allowed except in exceptional circumstances
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