The Telegraph reports that rural parts of England have been given fresh hope of being ‘decoupled’ from COVID-19 hotspots under the highest tier restrictions after Health Secretary Matt Hancock MP (Con) told Conservative MPs their area would be assessed on its ‘own merits’

In a letter to Dr Liam Fox MP (Con) and John Penrose MP (Con), whose constituencies are in rural areas of North Somerset, Mr Hancock signalled the local authority would be assessed independently of nearby Bristol. 

This came as Boris Johnson told a Downing Street press conference that he understood it was ‘incredibly frustrating’ that some areas that had been ‘attracted into a higher tier by proximity to some other neighbourhood that has a higher incidence of infection’.

He added that when the tiers are reviewed on December 16th, ministers would ensure that decisions were ‘as local’ and ‘sensitive as we can possibly be to local achievement and local incidence of the disease’.

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The Telegraph - Rural areas given fresh hope of being 'decoupled' from neighbouring covid-19 hotspots