THE Forest, along with the rest of Gloucestershire, is be subject to “Tier Two” Covid restrictions, the government has announced.

It means shops, gyms and personal care services can reopen, church services, weddings and outdoor sports can resume, you can meet people in public places but must stick to the rule of six, pubs can only open if they serve substantial meals and alcohol can be served with that meal, up to 2,000 spectators can attend organised sports events and non-essential foreign travel is allowed, subject to quarantine rules.

There were 10 positive tests for Covid-19 in the Forest on Monday (November 30) and there had been 72 in the previous seven days, a reduction of 49. The local rate was 97.2 per 100,000 which is below the average for England.

There were two deaths within 28 days of a positive death in the week up to November 30, a reduction of five on the previous seven days.

There have been 44 deaths in the Forest within 28 days of testing positive since the pandemic began.

Sarah Scott, Director of Public Health for Gloucestershire said: These new restrictions, whilst not what we would have wanted, will help us to bring down the number of cases in the county and protect those most at risk.

“Whilst the number of cases reduced to around 960 last week and likely to fall again this week, this trend will not continue when restrictions are eased, if the guidance and new restrictions are not followed.

For more information on the new tier systems and the specific restrictions that will apply across Gloucestershire from tomorrow (December 3) visit: www.gov.uk/guidance/full-list-of-local-restriction-tiers-by-area