New tier system in England replaces Covid-19 lockdown

London, Dec 3 : A new tier system in England has replaced the recently-concluded month-long Covid-19 lockdown, as part of additional efforts by the UK government to further halt the spread of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, especially during the upcoming Christmas holidays.
British MPs on Tuesday approved the new three-tier system of coronavirus restrictions designed to replace the month-long national lockdown that ended Wednesday, reports Xinhua news agency.
Shops will now be allowed to reopen across England, giving a Christmas bonanza to the struggling retail sector.
But all bars and restaurants in the toughest Tier Three areas will remain closed.
Around 55 million people in England are now either in Tier Two or Three areas, with restrictions on what they can do and where they can go.
In Tier Three areas, which covers the UK’s major cities such as Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Bristol, Nottingham and Sheffield, control measures have prompted fears in the licensing trade that hundreds of pubs, inns and taverns could close for good after being ordered to stay shut weeks before Christmas and New Year, traditionally the busiest time of the year for the hospitality and bar industry.