Isle of Wight and New Forest to move to tier 4 restrictions

The Isle of Wight and the New Forest are to be placed under the toughest restrictions in a bid to contain the spread of a new variant of Covid-19.

The government announced both areas will move from tier three to four from Thursday due to rising case numbers.

The rest of Hampshire is already under tier four restrictions.

It means residents should stay at home, unless they have a “reasonable excuse”, such as work or education and all non-essential shops must close.

The Isle of Wight had been one of the few places in England to stay at tier 1 up until Boxing Day, but had seen a sharp upturn in coronavirus figures in the week before Christmas, with a rate of 227.1 people per 100,000 having the virus.

Council leader Dave Stewart said: “All of the good work we have been doing to protect our island community from this virus seems to have been undone in a very short space of time, which goes to show how dangerous this virus is.

“Sadly it seems that some in our community have forgotten this, but I hope that this change of tiers will serve as a reminder to them not to act selfishly and follow the guidance,” he added.

The island’s director of public health Simon Bryant said residents should be “very cautious”.

“Please, for the safety of the island, do not flout the rules or bend them to suit what you want to do.

“I know that this is a lot to ask and it is hard for people who want to see friends and family on New Year’s Eve – but please don’t meet up in person,” he said.

Ferry company Red Funnel had already announced it was reducing its high speed service between Southampton and West Cowes.

From Saturday there will be seven crossings at key commuter times on weekdays, and five at weekends. The company said passenger numbers have dropped by up to 90%.

Bob Seely, Isle of Wight MP, said moving to tier four was “disappointing” but added there was “little alternative” due to the pressure on local hospitals increasing.

He said the “likelihood is that the Island will be under heavy restrictions until at least the end of February” but added with approval of the OxfordAstraZenca vaccine, “come the Spring, we should start the return to a more normal living”.

Keith Mans, leader of Hampshire County Council, said the tougher measures came as “no surprise” following a surge of cases across the county.

“While I fully understand that people may be fed up with the restrictions being imposed on our everyday lives, it’s crucial that we get transmission rates down,” he added.

“We must continue to work together, follow the rules for our tier and protect ourselves, our loved ones and our communities.”