Plymouth is in danger of being classed as a “high risk”, or Tier 2, area as coronavirus infections surge – with serious implications for the city’s businesses including a 10pm curfew for pubs and restaurants.
Plymouth’s Director of Public Health has called for a concerted city-wide effort to stop it having to enter Tier 2, as Covid-19 cases surge by 350 in just a week.
Dr Ruth Harrell warned that if Covid-19 cases in Plymouth continue to rise at the current rapid rate, within days the city could be designated a “high risk”, or Tier 2 area, meaning further restrictions for residents and businesses.
This would mean businesses and venues can continue to operate, but . Pubs and restaurants must ensure customers consume food and drink only while seated - and must close between 10pm and 5am.
Takeaways would be able continue to operate after 10pm if food is ordered online or by phone and schools and the city’s universities can remain open.
Exercise classes and organised sport would be able continue to take place outdoors, if the city enters Tier 2, but will only be permitted indoors if it is possible for people to avoid mixing with those they do not live with or share a support bubble with, or for youth or disability sport.
However, people are able to travel to work of places of education, but people are advised to reduce the number of journeys where possible. Tradespeople would be allowed to continue to go into households for work.
But people would be prohibited from socialising with anybody outside their household or support bubble in any indoor setting and the rule of six would continue to apply for socialising outdoors, for example in a garden or public space such as a park or beach.
Most Read
Places of worship would remain open, but people may not mingle in groups of more than six, and weddings and funerals could go ahead with restrictions on the numbers attending - 15 and 30 respectively.
In Plymouth, Covid cases are now rising faster than at any other time during the pandemic and there are now 138 cases per 100,000 residents, well above the average for the South West.
Dr Harrell said: “Until recently we have enjoyed a relatively low number of cases compared to other parts of the country but we are now seeing the numbers rise rapidly.
“This is very worrying and if the rise continues at the current rate we are only weeks, or possibly days, away from being designated a high risk area, which would mean more restrictions for families and businesses.
“This affects everyone in Plymouth. Cases aren’t limited to any one age group or area of the city and the increase isn’t due to one or two big outbreaks; we are seeing cases across our community – within couples, families, schools, care homes and businesses. This means that we’ve all got to do our bit to help stop this rise.
“There is absolutely no room for complacency. This virus is having a terrible impact on some families in Plymouth. Sadly, we have seen 85 people in Plymouth die from Covid-19 related illness and we will see more.
“We are also seeing some people’s lives blighted by ill-health for months after initially recovering from the virus. ‘Long Covid’ is now recognised as a serious problem.
Don’t miss
Want more Plymouth business news straight to your inbox?
BusinessLive South West is home for all your Plymouth business news as well as relevant stories from across the wider region.
You can sign up to receive daily morning business bulletins and we'll send out breaking news alerts for any stories we think you can't miss.
Visit our email preference centre to sign up to all the latest news from BusinessLive.
How to contact William Telford and Business Live
Business Live's South West Business Reporter is William Telford. William has more than a decade's experience reporting on the business scene in Plymouth and the South West. He is based in Plymouth but covers the entire region.
To contact William: Email: william.telford@reachplc.com - Phone: 01752 293116 - Mob: 07584 594052 - Twitter: - LinkedIn: - Facebook:
Stay in touch: BusinessLive newsletters have been re-designed to make them even better. We send morning bulletins straight to your inbox on the latest news, views and opinion in the South West. Get our breaking news alerts and weekly sector reviews too. Sign up now - it's free and it only takes a minute. To sign up for Business Live's daily newsletters click .
And visit the Business Live South West LinkedIn page
“The number of cases in the community is also being reflected at the University Hospitals Plymouth. A number of wards at Derriford Hospital are once again being used to care for patients with suspected and confirmed Covid and visiting has again been restricted for the safety of staff and patients.
“This virus spreads very easily but we all know the simple measures that are needed to prevent this. The question we all need to ask ourselves is: ‘are we actually doing everything we know we should?’ The number and spread of cases in Plymouth suggests that people are not being as careful as they need to be in following the guidelines.
“These include washing hands, wearing face coverings and keeping distance from others, as well as isolating if you have the virus or are a close contact of someone who does.
“I would urge everyone to take a stock check and think about whether they are doing everything they need to and to talk to family and friends about it as well. We are at the point where we really need to reduce our face-to-face social interactions down.
“I know keeping up these measures can be hard and we are all desperate to get back to normal but if we are to have any chance of turning round this rapid rise in cases and avoiding further restrictions, we need to redouble our efforts and remind ourselves – and others – about the need to stay safe all the time.”
Cllr Tudor Evans, leader of Plymouth City Council and chair of the Plymouth Local Outbreak Engagement Board, said: “Throughout the pandemic Plymouth residents have been great at pulling together and looking out for each other.
“This has meant that we’ve had significantly fewer cases than the most other areas of the country. But now things are going the wrong way – and fast. The speed and the scale of the increase in cases is very worrying and we are not far from becoming a high alert area.
“No one wants further restrictions to be put in place but that’s what we are facing unless we can turn this round. The surge in cases is already placing severe strain on the NHS at a time when it is also dealing with the usual winter pressures.
“A few months ago we were all cheering and applauding NHS staff each week. Now is the time to put our masks where our mouths are and demonstrate that support day in and day out by strictly following the guidance we know we should.
“I would urge everyone to redouble this joint effort to keep the virus at bay in Plymouth and save lives and protect the NHS. We can do this but we’ve got to keep at it and it has to be team effort.”