Government issues 'stay at home' message for New Year's Eve after new Tier 4 announcements

Everyone in England is being be encouraged to stay at home as part of a public information advertising campaign urging the public to see in the New Year safely.

"See in the New Year safely at home" is running across radio, print media and out of home advertising until 31 December.

It comes at a time where current data shows Covid-19 cases are at an all-time high.

The advertising says people should not meet up with friends or family indoors, unless they are in the same household or support bubble, and they should avoid large gatherings of any kind.

The Government said: "The adverts remind the public how easily COVID-19 can be spread. 1 in 3 people who have Covid-19 have no symptoms and as such the public should act like they have the virus to avoid spreading it without realising. The new strain of the virus spreads even faster than before and NERVTAG’s early analysis suggested it could increase R by 0.4 or greater."

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “With our NHS under pressure we must all take personal responsibility this New Year’s Eve and stay at home.

“I know how much we have all sacrificed this year and we cannot let up. Over 600,000 people have now been vaccinated and we are close to beating this virus.

“Now more than ever, we need to pull together to save lives and protect our NHS. If we continue to do our bit by staying at home, we can get through this together.”

NHS Test and Trace is reaching 97.5% of contacts within 24 hours, and more than 3.9 million people have been reached and the government is calling on people to do their bit and further prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Find all local restrictions and laws at gov.uk/coronavirus.

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