‘We would like to know what additional support there will be for businesses forced to close on the busiest week of their year. Shops, restaurants and bars will all have banked on a bumper week to get them through the lean months of January and February.
‘The Kings Theatre in Southsea was brave enough to put on a pantomime, but this has now been cancelled. What support can you offer these businesses to stop then going bust?
‘People in Portsmouth will obey the new restrictions to make sure that they are able to keep the virus at bay, but people need to know that the government is in control of the situation, and it appears that you are not. We can no longer cope with this level of chaos in government.
Kit Malthouse’s latest column Before you switch off for your well-deserved Christmas break, I have some important North Hampshire updates for you. Testing for Covid is progressing well – as I write this, we’re getting through hundreds of tests a day locally. Some 396 tests a day are taking place in Test Valley and a further 372 are occurring in Basingstoke and Deane and there is plenty of capacity in North West Hampshire and across the South East. We’re the first country in the world to approve a Covid vaccine and it’s now being rolled out across the UK at pace. The Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth, part of the NHS in Hampshire and Isle of Wight, is one of 50 hubs nationally to begin vaccinating patients.
ISLANDERS are being urged not to travel to Portsmouth after it was placed in Tier 4 by prime minister, Boris Johnson this afternoon (Saturday). At the government s latest coronavirus briefing, Johnson announced new measures to combat a new, more transmissable strain of coronavirus, declaring: We cannot continue with Christmas as planned. The Isle of Wight remains under Tier 1 restrictions over Christmas, but as of midnight tonight, just seven miles across The Solent, Portsmouth moved into Tier 4 a lockdown similar to that reimposed nationally last month. However, for those in Tiers 1, 2 and 3, the rules allowing up to three households to meet over the festive period will now be limited to Christmas Day only not the five days as previously planned and that Christmas bubbles for those in Tiers 1-3 will not be able to include anyone in Tier 4.
‘We are aiming to raise funds to purchase a small gift for every patient staying with us on the day, so this is a final call to help us achieve this.
‘We know how generous and supportive our local communities and businesses are, so hope you will be able to help. Thank you to everyone for their support this year, we appreciate it more than we can ever say.’
The hospital’s charity has also an Amazon wishlist for presents for the children’s and neonatal departments.
Chief executive of Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, Mark Cubbon, added: ‘We know that Christmas will be different this year and we want to do all that we can to ensure our patients feel able to celebrate the festive season wherever possible.’
Tier 3 coronavirus curbs to cover almost 40 million in England from Saturday
People walk through a flurry of artificial snow in Leadenhall Market, London, which has moved into the highest tier of coronavirus restrictions as a result of soaring case rates. Pic by Victoria Jones
By David Hughes and Sam Blewett, PA Political Staff
More than two-thirds of England’s population will be living under Tier 3 restrictions from Saturday amid rising concern about the spread of coronavirus in the run-up to Christmas.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock placed large parts of southern and eastern England into the top tier and dashed hopes in northern regions of an easing of restrictions.