CORNWALL’S tourism chief has warned that the county could be looking down the barrel of a full lockdown or Tier 4 soon and has asked people to “double and triple down in their efforts” to contain the coronavirus.

While Cornwall remains in Tier One, cases have risen to over 60 per 100,000 – this from 33 per 100,000 last Friday and 18 per 100,000 the week before that. A further announcement on the Tiers is expected later today.

Malcolm Bell, CEO of Visit Cornwall, was speaking yesterday during a webinar for people in the tourism industry, where he set out the new tier restrictions that came in across the country on Sunday, and answered questions from business owners.

He said he would be in favour of “short, sharp measures” to get on top of the transmission rates now if it meant that Cornwall’s tourism industry could be more certain of having half term in February and the Easter holiday.

Mr Bell took questions from accommodation providers who were unsure of the rules around who can legally travel to Cornwall, and on the issue of which circumstances mean they’re obliged to give a refund to visitors who have cancelled a booking.

He said that Visit Cornwall was lobbying for Cornwall’s accommodation providers to be able to receive more grant funding from Government “as although we are in Tier One, the restrictions in place elsewhere are making businesses unviable”.

“I do think we might be staring at a lockdown or everywhere going into Tier 4 in January, that’s my speculation,” he said.

“Visit Cornwall is arguing for short, sharp measures to get on top of the virus now. We need to get the vaccine in place to get the vulnerable protected, and get the industry up and running, so we can make up some ground in 2021. Let’s all redouble and treble our efforts to contain the virus in the next few weeks.”

Cornwall Council and Visit Cornwall has set out an explanation of the Tier Rules and what people should or shouldn’t be doing:

• Besides some exemptions (see www.gov.uk/guidance/tier-4-stay-at-home), Tier 4 residents should not be travelling to Cornwall at all. Any tier 4 residents who are already visiting in Covid-secure accommodation should return home as soon as possible.

• Tier 3 residents should only travel to Cornwall as part of a Christmas Bubble travelling on the December 24 or 25 for Christmas Day and leave for home on Boxing Day at the latest.

• Tier 2 residents should stay local and avoid traveling outside that area, i.e. their village, town or part of a city, where possible. The Government is advising against leisure and holiday travel, including visiting friends and relatives, but people are permitted to travel as part of the Christmas Bubble arrangements. We strongly urge people to heed the Government’s advice.

• Cornwall residents (Tier 1) should stay local and avoid traveling outside that area, i.e. their village, town or part of a city, where possible. The Government is advising against leisure and holiday travel, including visiting friends and relative. Tier 1 residents must also follow the rules of higher tiers if they travel out of their tier.

• Second home owners are urged not to travel to second homes in Cornwall as this in non-essential travel and could risk the spread of infection and put a strain on NHS resources.

• All residents should think carefully about whether it is worth the risk to travel and form a bubble and remember: ‘Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should!’

The Council’s Covid-19 Enforcement Team says it will continue to work over the Christmas and new year period working alongside public health and police colleagues and will engage with residents and businesses and follow up on any issues where the rules are not being followed in business settings.

Anyone with an enforcement concern should contact the Council via [email protected]