On Thursday the 26th November, PM Boris Johnson announced that the Kent area would be moving into a tier 3 zone on the 2nd of December along with 32 other boroughs in England.

This is reportedly due to the two biggest hotspots in England for COVID-19 being located in this postcode, overtaking the soaring cases in Yorkshire and Greater Manchester areas that have been the focus of a lot of the governments previous restrictions. The districts of Swale and Thanet aforementioned, have seen cases rise to almost 650 cases per 100,000 people each in just the week of the 11th. This huge increase has attracted governmental attention to the previously tier one area and has led to the stricter precautions that will fall into effect at the start of advent.

This change presents a worry for the Kentish residents as it puts many businesses that planned to reopen after the lockdown into doubt over whether this can go ahead as planned, or if it will even be economically viable to open their doors with the enforced lack of customers. The government have stated that “…some unessential shops…” may be allowed to open along with the previously dubbed “…essential shops…”. However this vague proclamation has done little to reassure retail business owners, employees of the Sevenoaks high street shopping area have expressed a concern already over the lockdown imposed and worry that “…any further delay in reopening could put the future of the business in jeopardy.” The run up to Christmas is one of the busiest times in retail and if the new restrictions impede the sales, the people of Kent may have to say goodbye to many of their shopping districts just over a year after the first case of COVID-19 was reported.

Alternatively, many parents are also concerned about the implications that this step forward will have on their children’s education. During the worst outbreak in Manchester, the county council was considering closing all universities, colleges and schools to help mitigate the high infection rate; as Kent overtakes any other English district in number of cases and rate of increase, many speculate over what this could mean for the schooling in this borough. The press release stated that places of education would remain open and following the prior guidelines put in place, although many of these institutions are already facing a reduced cohort of up to 80%; some closing 3 weeks early for Christmas break due to uncontrollable spreads of cases. With exams approaching fast for 2021 and 2022, many students face more than a bit of apprehension over whether the content will be taught in time as our country continues to contend with the impacts of the virus in our local communities. The forecast of schools closing again so soon after the last national closures is a bleak one, though necessary to reduce transmission, quarantined students from Tonbridge Grammar school have reported that their educations has been “severely and negatively stunted” from no fault of their own or the teachers, simply circumstance. Furthermore, a large proportion of these isolated students have reported the situation as being a large detriment to their mental health, this is hard to deal with and keep these people safe as they are in mandatory lockdown in their homes, out of the reach from friends and their support groups.

Finally, one of the biggest issues that the people of Kent face as a result of this promotion is the situation at Christmas. The tier three restrictions are a welcome security for many and a hindrance for others during the Christmas season. This is in response to the PM’s announcement that, against scientific advice at the time, all national restrictions will be relaxed and allow for free travel from any tier between the 23rd and the 27th of December to form a “Christmas bubble”. This may be the breather that England needs after months of global chaos, allowing people to reconnect with friends and family and get a better grasp on their mental health. On the other hand, a local parent of three children, all attending different schools in the Kent area, has expressed their concern around such a large and diverse mixing of bubbles on a day to day basis, “…my children all travel to different schools every day and mix with different people, if we were to meet with their grandparents over Christmas I worry that they could spread the virus to them without knowing.” This is a common concern and is becoming more evident as cases in schools skyrocket leaving “one or two other kids” in classes.

As we quickly approach the imposition of the governments new guidelines, the people of Kent are questioning what the point of being upgraded to a tier 3 restriction during advent is, just to break these new precautions over the Christmas period. They worry about the spread of cases within schools and how these are carried to more vulnerable members of the community during the holiday season, the impacts of the responses upon the local economy and retail outlets. As the 33 boroughs in England move into tier 3 restrictions on the 2nd, many hope the government will provide clearer advice and hope for a quick resolution to this step that continues to disrupt lives globally.