Torpoint Town Council
Covid 19 Tiers Update from Cornwall Council
Messages for South East and North Cornwall
Many of our residents travel between Devon, Cornwall and Plymouth on a daily basis for things like work, the school run, or leisure, so it is important that everyone understands what is required of them under the new rules.
From Wednesday, December 2, the region’s counties were being placed into one of three tiers, with Tier 1 being classed as ‘medium alert’ and 3 classed as ‘very high alert’.
Cornwall is the only area to fall into Tier 1 (alongside the Isles of Scilly) with the rest of the region classed as either Tier 2 or Tier 3.
In brief, the rules for each tier are as follows:
Tier 1: Up to six people can meet indoors or outdoors. Pubs and restaurants can open, with last orders at 10pm and closing at 11pm.
Tier 2: Up to six people can meet outdoors but no mixing indoors, apart from support bubbles. Pubs and restaurants can open, with last orders at 10pm and closing at 11pm, but alcohol can only be served with a substantial meal.
Tier 3: No mixing indoors. People can only meet outdoors in limited places such as parks and public gardens. Pubs and restaurants must close unless they are offering takeaways.
Put simply, if you’re coming from Tier 2 to Tier 1 – so Plymouth to Torpoint for example – then you will carry your Tier 2 rules with you. Just think of it as hand luggage that travels with you.
Of course, the rules work the other way too, so anyone travelling from Cornwall to Devon for example would have to abide by the Tier 2 restrictions of their destination.
Those in Tier 3 should not be travelling at all unless it is essential.
The announcement that Cornwall is the only area where people can visit pubs for drinks alone has led many to question what happens when people cross from a Tier 2 county, such as Devon, in search of a pint or two. The government has already warned people not travel to the county to visit its pubs, but the reality is that thousands of residents in the South West will move between different tiers as they go about their everyday lives for work, leisure and the school run – and is vital for all the South West that they follow the rules to keep cases low and reduce community transmission regardless of where they live.