Councillor Ian Ward, the leader of Birmingham City Council, said a move to Tier 3 was “inevitable”, if not “imminent”.
He said: “Given the rising case rate and other factors, a move to Tier 3 would seem to be inevitable at some stage and I’m talking to the other met (council) leaders, MPs and public health officials on a daily basis as we put our asks together for moving into Tier 3.
“That’s because we want the Government to work with us to protect lives, jobs and the economy.
“We don’t want imposition without negotiation.
“But I have certainly not said that we are going into Tier 3 imminently.
“That’s not currently the case.”
– NHS Providers director urges cautious and pre-emptive approach from Government
Commenting on the findings of the React study and intensifying calls for national restrictions, the director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, Miriam Deakin, said: “Given the rising rates of infection and growing pressures on bed occupancy, we would urge the Government to take a cautious and pre-emptive approach which means being tougher and quicker in its response.
“We don’t have enough information to say whether it’s time to move to a national lockdown, and we completely recognise the gravity and impact of such a decision.
“However, to ensure the NHS is able to maintain high quality care for patients, Covid and non-Covid, politicians must be ready to make tough decisions early rather than late.”
