THE Prime Minister’s will be announcing what the new tiered lockdown measures will be in a statement this afternoon, but what will this mean for Bradford?

Boris Johnson will make a statement at 3.30pm to outline what the new framework will involve for the ‘local Covid alert levels’ system.

It is believed it will have three levels – medium, high and very high – with medium being the current national restrictions that are in place, such as the rule of six, 10pm curfew on pubs, bars and restaurants and social distancing.

‘High’ is set to be all the medium restrictions plus a ban on two households mixing indoors, with meeting in gardens allowed, while what ‘Very High’ may involve is still not yet clear, but could see businesses being forced to shut.

Liverpool City Region is set to go into the Very High band, and announced overnight all bars, pubs, casinos, bookmakers, and gyms will close, but further restrictions on restaurants have yet to be agreed. It is also getting control over its own Track and Trace system, an “enforcement package” and a “specific package of financial support”.

However, it is believed that ‘very high’ tier areas will not be subject to identical measures, as different areas are demanding different measures tailored to suit their particular area, so what Liverpool has announced may not necessarily apply to Bradford.

Government officials, including Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick and the Cabinet Office, are negotiating with each local authority separately, so it is unlikely the Prime Minister can provide details on what his new announcement will specifically mean for Bradford today.

This will mean many businesses across the district which could potentially be affected will be left in limbo until the specific package for the district is unveiled.