If you are looking to travel to the Shepton Mallet area, or live here and need clarification on what you can and cannot do, here is our guide to the current alert level.

Shepton Mallet is in the Mendip district, which is in Tier 1 or local Covid alert level Medium. Important restrictions and rules to remember in Tier 1 include:

When seeing friends and family you do not live with, or who are not part of your support bubble, you must not meet in a group of more than six, indoors or outdoors. This limit of six includes children of any age.

A support bubble is where a household with one adult joins with another household. Households in that support bubble can still visit each other, stay overnight and visit public places together.

Exceptions to the rule of six include for registered childcare, education or training; to facilitate a house move; for a wedding or equivalent ceremony and wedding receptions, where the organiser has carried out a risk assessment and taken all reasonable measures to limit the risk of transmission of the virus, up to a maximum of 15 people; for a funeral, up to a maximum of 30 people; and for outdoor exercise and dance classes, organised outdoor sport and licensed outdoor physical activity.

Venues following Covid-secure guidance can host more people in total, but no one must mix indoors in groups larger than six, unless you all live together, or are in the same support bubble.

Certain businesses selling food or drink on their premises are required to close between 10pm and 5am.

Businesses and venues selling food for consumption off the premises can continue to do so after 10pm as long as this is through delivery service, click-and-collect or drive-through; orders must be made via phone, online or by post.

To help contain the virus, office workers who can work effectively from home should do so over the winter.

Where an employer, in consultation with their employee, judges an employee can carry out their normal duties from home they should do so.

Public-sector employees working in essential services, including education settings, should continue to go into work where necessary. Anyone else who cannot work from home should go to their place of work.

There is no limit to group size when you are meeting or gathering for work purposes, but workplaces should be set up to meet the Covid-secure guidelines.

Family and friends can continue to provide informal childcare as long as groups from different households don't exceed six people.