THE county will have to wait to find out what rules will be in place when the national lockdown ends and tiered restrictions resume.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the country would be returning to the three-tier system from December 2 with gyms and non-essential shops allowed to re-open and the 10pm curfew for pubs and restaurants scrapped.

Worcestershire will have to wait to find out which tier it will be placed in with the announcement expected on Thursday.

Most areas are set to be placed in the higher tiers – ‘high risk’ tier two or ‘very high’ tier three – after December 2, the Prime Minister said.

Tier allocations will be reviewed every 14 days, and a regional approach will last until March.

Which tier Worcestershire will be placed in will depend on several factors, including case numbers, the reproduction rate and the current and projected pressure on the NHS locally.

Worcestershire's infection rate has fallen during the second national lockdown with latest figures showing the county's rate at 216.4 cases per 100,000 people in the week up to November 17 with a total of 1,289 cases recorded in the seven days.

Dr Kathryn Cobain, director of Public Health for Worcestershire, said: “Tier restrictions are being decided by central government, and we are awaiting further official guidance on this.

"Numbers of positive Covid-19 cases are stabilising in Worcestershire which we welcome, but there is still a long way to go to get our numbers down.

"We are continuing to monitor our daily figures and we really hope to see these numbers keep coming down especially in our districts where they have been highest infection rates. Right now it is up to everyone to follow the rules and do their upmost to keep people safe.”

Pubs in tier three area will have to stay closed except for takeaway and pubs in tier two can reopen if they serve meals.

Last orders at those pubs allowed to reopen will still be 10pm, but customers will have an hour to drink up and finish meals.