Regarding the traffic light system, I read on one website (I forget which one for now) that areas currently under local restrictions would be moved to the "Amber" level, and that areas not under local restrictions would be moved to the "Green" level.
The website also said that an weekly infection rate of more than 100 cases per 100,000 would be the trigger for moving an area from the "Green" to the "Amber" alert level, and that
at the moment, there are no plans to move any areas to the "Red" level.
To move areas with an infection rate higher than 100 to the "Red" level would leave vast swathes of the North of England and the Midlands,
many of whom voted Tory for the first time at the last election, effectively under a full lockdown, whilst leaving London and the South East comparatively free of restrictions, which would be politically awkward for the government.
One of the issues with a "traffic light" system of local "lockdowns" is the establishment of objective criteria that you can use to determine
- which areas should be a which level
- when to move an area from a level with fewer restrictions to a level with more restrictions
- when to move an area from a level with more restrictions to a level with fewer restrictions
What would really p*** people off is if their local area was constantly being moved from one level to another.
The other issue would be, how often any restrictions are reviewed - every week? every two weeks?........