Lytham St Annes and many other towns in Lancashire were displeased at the government’s last minute decision to move the county from Tier 2 to Tier 3, closing pubs and bars that did not serve substantial meals, and banning locals from meeting up with other households.

Despite the locals following the new rules, with many local restaurants usually packed to the brim on a Friday or Saturday, now face cancelled bookings and no-shows, the government are now considering a 4th tier for Lancashire and many other places across the North of England.

If the Tier 3 measures prove ineffective by mid-November, reports suggest that new restrictions will fall upon our county where non-essential shops and restaurants will be forced to close. This means we would be back to square one, households will be forced to stay in and many businesses will have to attempt to survive a second lockdown.

Christmas is coming and many locals were hoping for the lockdown restrictions to be lifted before the annual holiday, so that families could come together and kids could see their grandparents around the Christmas tree.

Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland, recently announced a 5 tier lockdown system where in addition to our 3 tiers, Scotland will have a tier below our “medium tier” within low risk areas; this low tier will be “as close to normal life as possible.” A 5th Tier, added above our “very high” restrictions, will have the restrictions set out by the government at the peak of the coronavirus cases in March and April.

The English Government are considering a similar approach in counties and larger cities that are showing the highest numbers of cases that do not seem to be reducing after Tier 3 was introduced.