Thousands of Nottinghamshire businesses are gearing up to face the toughest, tier 3 level of lockdown restrictions this week.
Nottingham city, Gedling, Broxtowe and Rushcliffe will enter the highest category in the coming days, following crunch talks with the Government.
Broxtowe Borough Council leader Coun Milan Radulovic confirmed to Nottinghamshire Live the areas will now enter the ‘very high’ category.
He said there will be a 28-day Tier 3 lockdown, implemented at midnight on Wednesday / Thursday morning (October 29).
He said they have agreed a financial package but more details will come out on Tuesday.
Local leaders in Gedling and MPs in the city had accused the Government of poor communication over the potential tighter restrictions.
Discussions between central Government and local political leaders about the level of financial support for businesses hit hardest continued on Monday.
Tier 3 will see the closure of pubs and bars that don’t serve food, while households will be banned from mixing indoors or in private gardens and beer gardens.
People living in “very high” alert levels can still travel to venues or amenities which are open, as well as for work, or education, but are being urged to cut journeys where possible.
Betting shops, casinos and soft play centres have been forced to close in other areas where Tier 3 restrictions have been imposed.
Over the weekend, South Yorkshire became the latest region to come under the highest tier of controls following Liverpool City Region, Greater Manchester and Lancashire.
Coun Radulovic said: “I think it is the right decision and the right decision is to balance the need of the local economy for shops and businesses to function but drive down the number of infections among the 60 plus and protect the NHS being overwhelmed.”
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said areas would have to prove that their infection rate was coming down, especially among those aged 60 or over, before they could be removed from the strictest measures.
He has also refused to rule out bringing in a tougher set of Tier 4 restrictions to tackle England’s rise in infections.
