Mon 12th Oct 2020 - Government announces new three-tier alert system, wet-led pubs and bars in Liverpool to shut Government announces new three-tier alert system, wet-led pubs and bars in Liverpool to shut: Prime minister Boris Johnson has announced a new three-tier alert system for England that will see wet-led pubs and bars shut in Liverpool but restaurants remain open. The tiers are split into “medium”, “high” and “very high” alert levels. The Liverpool City Region, which has more than 600 cases per 100,000 people, has been placed into the “very high” category that means wet-led pubs and bars will have to close from Wednesday (14 October). Tier one restrictions – the “medium” category – are in line with what is already in place across England. This means a 10pm curfew for hospitality, and a ban on gatherings of more than six people. The threshold for tier one is where coronavirus cases are fewer than 100 per 100,000 of the population. When the number of cases begins to climb, and transmission cannot be contained through local responses, areas will be escalated to tier two. This means there are more than 100 cases per 100,00 of the population – Greater Manchester has been placed into this category along with Nottinghamshire. Households are banned from mixing indoors, but they can meet outside following the rule of six and social distancing. Tier three – the toughest restrictions – are triggered when tier two measures have failed to contain the spread of the virus – or where there has been a significant rise in transmission rates. Only the Liverpool City Region and Merseyside have been placed under this highest level of alert. Restrictions are set to be reviewed every four weeks. Johnson said: “We don’t want to go back to a national lock-down but we don’t want to let the virus let rip. But we must act to save lives and change our behaviour by restricting access between us.” New measures announced by chancellor Rishi Sunak last week will see staff paid two-thirds of their wages if their employer is forced to shut because of stricter lock-down measures. But Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said: “Any restrictions will choke the trade of these businesses so there needs to be a full furlough scheme and much wider support.”