A MOVE to Tier 4 for Cheshire West is ‘clearly disappointing’, says council leader Louise Gittins.

Yesterday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced that Cheshire and Warrington was to move into the toughest restrictions from this morning (Thursday, December 31).

The move means a ‘Stay At Home’ alert level is in place, with non-essential retail stores closing, and residents can only see one other person from another household outdoors.

Responding to the decision, Labour CWAC leader Cllr Louise Gittins said: “This latest news is clearly disappointing, although we have a duty to act in the best interests of our residents. 

“We now must stay at home except for specific reasons such as work, outdoor exercise or medical care. We realise that as well as affecting all of us individually, many of our businesses will be hit hard. 

“The announcement was not subject to prior notice or consultation with the Council, but we will be working with a range of local organisations and the government to get assistance to those that need it.”

The Neston ward member also encouraged residents to follow the new restrictions, especially with the approval of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

She said: "We must follow these rules to slow the spread, protect the NHS and save lives. As we roll out the vaccine, it would be an even greater tragedy if we don’t follow the rules and we lose more lives that in a few months could be saved. We will all need to pull together once again. We’ve brought the infection rate down before, and we can do it again.”

Residents can find out more on the Tier 4 rules on the CWAC website.