Northamptonshire waits on PM's announcement on what comes next after Covid-19 lockdown

Health officials and council leaders could face a dilemma in the wake of Boris Johnson's anticipated announcement of a tougher tiered system of Covid-19 restrictions.

The Prime Minister is set tell MPs on Monday what measures will be in place once the national lockdown ends on December 2.

But Downing Street has already confirmed tiers will be strengthened under the Covid Winter Plan and areas will be in higher tiers in a bid to keep the virus under control and allow families to get together at Christmas.

Northamptonshire was in the lowest tier of restrictions before the national lockdown was announced on November 2.

But the number of positive tests in the county have continued to rise sharply and county Public Health Director Lucy Wightman admitted recently that Northamptonshire would now be in a higher tier if that system was still in place.

Mrs Wightman told the County Council Covid Oversight and Engagement Board meeting on November 12: "Knowing what we knew about the different thresholds between the tiers, we would be considered to be Tier Two now.

"What we understand from the Joint Bio-Security Centre outlining those thresholds for tier two priror to lockdown, we have hit a number of those markers during this period."

Official figures revealed a further 476 positive tests in Northamptonshire over the weekend while four coronavirus deaths were confirmed at Kettering General Hospital.

Details of the new restrictions to be announced are likely to include no mixing of households indoors in Tier Two areas.

Local leaders previously insisted they wanted to see Northamptonshire move as one in the tier system rather than have different boroughs and districts operating under different restrictions.

Yet current infection rates the south of the county are nearly four times what they are 35 miles away in Corby. An area containing villages of Harpole, Kislingbury and Bugbrooke has an infection rate of 526.5 per 100,000 people per week. Corby Village & Weldon has a rate of 134.5.

The Government will announce on Thursday which tier Northamptonshire will be in but, as before, it is understood local authorities will be able to push to be included in higher tiers if they think it necessary.

Northamptonshire's decided against requesting to moved up to Tier Two last month with Northampton Borough Council leader Jonathan Nunn describing it as: "A rotten balancing act between our No1 priority which is clearly people's health and preservation of life up against economic considerations peoples jobs and people's ability to pay their bills and people's liberty."

The PM's plan is for a softening of rules over Christmas so that several households can join in one "bubble" and pubs and restaurants may be able to open longer for a limited period over the holiday period.

A spokesman for No10 said: "Everyone's efforts during the current national restrictions have helped bring the virus back under control, slowed its spread and eased pressures on the NHS.

"But the Prime Minister and his scientific advisers are clear the virus is still present and without regional restrictions it could quickly run out of control again before vaccines and mass testing have had an effect."