It's today (29 October) been announced that Oxford will be moved into the government’s ‘high’ or tier 2 alert level after a further rise in cases of COVID-19 – meaning that the city’s residents will need to abide by new rules from Saturday 31 October.
The central government decision follows intensive discussions between central government, local councils, MPs, OxLEP and others in recent days. Rates per 100,000 in Oxford rose to 137.` for the week ending 23 October. For Oxfordshire as a whole, the rate was 117.5 for the same period.
The rest of the county remains at tier 1 or ‘medium’ level – although figures here too continue to rise. Cases per 100,000 are 151.5 in Cherwell, 92.2 in South Oxfordshire, 91.2 in Vale of White Horse and 109.4 in West Oxfordshire.
Statement from Nigel Tipple, Chief Executive of OxLEP:
Following the decision to move Oxford into tier two measures, we will continue to work with health officials, our local authority counterparts, the county’s MPs and our business community to ensure the additional support that our businesses will undoubtedly require during this period is in-place and readily available.
We ask that businesses follow the new guidelines and adhere to any actions required where applicable to their industry.
We also encourage them to be as proactive as possible to seek any business support that is needed, whether via existing government schemes or indeed the support and advice we are able to offer as the county’s Local Enterprise Partnership.
Coronavirus has created an unprecedented situation and will cause concern and disruption to businesses of all sizes for the foreseeable future and we will continue to work with Government to ensure that our business community can be supported and remain resilient and productive during this challenging period.
Find out more information on Tier 2 measures
Find out more on the Government support and guidance available to businesses
