Tier 2 rules and Christmas restrictions explained

England moved into a four-tier system on Sunday morning after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that London and other areas of the southeast of England will go into a newly created tier 4.

The latest restrictions come after a new variant of Covid-19 was discovered, which Mr Johnson said can be “passed on significantly more easily” and could increase the R number by 0.4 or more.

Many parts of the country still remain in tier 2  - a high alert tier - including Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Cumbria and Southampton, while Bristol and North Somerset have now moved from tier 3 into tier 2.

In tier 2, pubs and restaurants remain open, but people may not drink alcohol without also having a “substantial meal” at the same time.

Read more: Can I meet friends in the pub in tier 2?

Other rules include an extension of the 10pm curfew to 11pm curfew - meaning people have to make last orders in pubs by 10 o’clock but do not need to have vacated the premises. In tier 3 hospitality is closed altogether.

But for those who can open - what does the alcohol rule really mean?  

The rule in tier 2 is that pubs and bars must close unless they are operating as restaurants and serve food alongside the alcohol. They also must provide table service only.

But this had led to some confusion over whether people could, for example, have lunch in a pub and then drink for the rest of the afternoon.

On 29 November, Downing Street confirmed that customers would have to leave the venue once they finish eating their meal - and cannot continue to drink if they are no longer eating. 

“We've been clear that, in tier 2 I believe, that you need to have a substantial meal if ordering any alcohol and it remains the case that the guidance says that once the meal is finished, it is at that point [you have to leave],” it told the BBC.

MP George Eustice, secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, went further to explain: "I think you can finish your drink provided you are at a table and you have had a drink with a meal then, of course, you can finish your drink as well.

"What you probably couldn't do is have a small meal and then sit at the table all night ordering drink."

In October when a similar rule was used, housing secretary Robert Jenrick ruled out a packet of crisps qualifying as a “substantial meal”, telling LBC that a Cornish pasty could be considered a “normal meal” if it was ordered with a salad and chips.

The guidance only qualifies a “substantial meal” as "a full breakfast, main lunchtime or evening meal". 

Spectators are allowed to watch sport in tier 2, with a maximum crowd capacity outdoors of 50% of the capacity of the stadium or 2,000 people, whichever is smaller. Indoors, the maximum capacity is 1,000.

Indoor entertainment venues, such as cinemas, casinos and bowling alleys, can open, but must close at 11pm.

You can find out which alert level your area falls under using the postcode search available on the government website.  Or use this list of all regions by tier. 

The NHS Covid 19 app will also be updated and show which local alert level applies in which area.