Moving more areas into tiers 3 and 4 right call

Responding to confirmation that most of England will now be in tiers 3 and 4, Danny Mortimer, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said:

“This move hammers home the reality that transmission of the virus is not under control, and it is now spreading more rapidly than the NHS could soon be able to handle. While no one would welcome the need for greater restriction, it is the undoubtedly right course of action for the public and for the NHS, to prevent more sickness, and loss of life and the very real possibility that parts of the NHS could be further overwhelmed.

“The news that the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine will be deployed to the entire population is of course extremely heartening. There is light at the end of the tunnel, but as today’s decision demonstrates, this absolutely does not mean the crisis is over. It is beholden on all of us to abide by the new more stringent restrictions and help curb the spread as far as possible.

“With Liverpool going back into tier 3, it’s clear mass testing on its own cannot reduce spread, and it’s therefore even more important that we have a much more robust and effective test and trace programme."

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We are the membership organisation that brings together, supports and speaks for the whole healthcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The members we represent employ 1.5 million staff, care for more than 1 million patients a day and control £150 billion of public expenditure. We promote collaboration and partnership working as the key to improving population health, delivering high-quality care and reducing health inequalities.