Coronavirus: Bristol says it is entering ‘Tier 1 Plus’ restrictions

Bristol has introduced an entirely new category of coronavirus restrictions, “Tier 1 Plus”, that will come into force in days.

The measures will see tighter enforcement, greater local control over test and trace, Covid marshals patrolling the city and a targeted focus on working adults between the ages of 30 and 60 years old.

The phrase “Tier 1 Plus” is a local term and not something from government, a Bristol City Council spokesperson told The Independent.

Marvin Rees, the mayor of Bristol, said the approach means the city remains in Tier 1 but with the addition of “targeted interventions” to influence people’s behaviour and stem the spread of the virus.

He warned the city would move into Tier 2 or 3 if the new measures are not successful in bringing down the rate of infection.

“This happens incredibly quickly so it could be a matter of days until those options come right into our face and decisions have to be made,” Mr Rees told a press conference on Wednesday.

Christina Gray, Bristol’s director of public health, said “nothing is off the table” with regards to the introduction of tougher restrictions.

Mr Rees said the national test and trace programme had not worked “as well as we would have liked” and Bristol would continue to lobby for resources from government to help it take responsible locally.

He also said eight Covid-19 marshals would be introduced locally to ensure compliance with regulations in the area, but insisted their role would be “supportive” rather than enforcing the rules.

Speaking about preventing the virus spreading among the over 30s, Ms Gray said focusing on this area is vital to prevent transmission to older and vulnerable people.

The use of the novel term “Tier 1 Plus” triggered some frustration and attracted criticism on social media for creating further confusion over what is expected of people under the different tiers. 

One Twitter user wrote: “I appreciate the city doing more, but the decision to label this Tier 1+ is ridiculous, causes confusion and is rightfully being laughed at around the country.”

Another tweeted: “The whole point of the tier system is for ease of understanding so people comply. Now you decide to make up a whole new level whereas in reality we’ve not lived tiers – just having better enforcement which perhaps should of been done anyway.”

The Department of Health and Social Care said it is “not considering the introduction of a ‘plus’ system” over the existing three tiers that are “enshrined in law”.

“Bristol is currently at medium and local leaders have the authority to bring in some additional measures for their area and we welcome local efforts to break chains of transmission,” a spokesperson from the government department added.

There have been 1,579 cases of Covid-19 in Bristol in the last seven days, bringing the total cases to 5,339 since the start of the pandemic.

The local rate of cases per 100,000 people is now at 340.7, while the English average is 222.8, while the R rate for the southwest is 1.3 to 1.6.