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Boris Johnson tonight plunged England into a new lockdown by putting in place emergency measures to control the spread of new strains of coronavirus amid concerns that NHS risks will be overwhelmed.
Schools, stores and sports venues will close their doors for six weeks from early Wednesday morning in scenes not seen since the original shutdown last March, and exercise is about the only reason to leave home regularly.
The Prime Minister’s speech at 10 Downing Street came after Nicola Sturgeon plunged Scotland into a new blockade there since midnight tonight.
Wales has been locked up since before Christmas, and the Northern Ireland executive is due to announce its own measures when it meets tomorrow.
The latest figures showed that another 407 people died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 from Monday and there was a record 58,784 more laboratory-confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK.
So what are the new rules for Britain hit by Covid?
Tonight, Boris Johnson plunged England into a new lockdown by putting in place emergency measures to control the spread of new strains of coronavirus amid concerns that NHS risks will be overwhelmed.
Schools, stores and sports venues will close their doors for six weeks in scenes not witnessed since the original closure last March. Only essential purchases and exercise will be allowed.
The prime minister’s speech at 10 Downing Street came after Nicola Sturgeon plunged Scotland into a new blockade there since midnight tonight.
England
England will be subjected to a total national blockade that will last until the February semester.
All primary and secondary schools will close with immediate effect and remain open only to vulnerable students and the children of key workers. The plan is for them to reopen after the February mid-quarter break.
The A-Level and GCSE exams are unlikely to go ahead as planned in the summer, and Mr. Johnson said, “We recognize that this will mean that it is not possible or fair for all exams to take place this summer normally.”
Colleges will also be closed to students until mid-February.
The nurseries will remain fully open.
The public should stay home unless they need to leave for one of the following five reasons:
- Work, if it cannot be done from home, such as construction and key public functions.
- Buy basic necessities like food and medicine.
- Exercise, ideally no more than once a day. You can exercise with anyone in your support bubble, or with another person, with social distancing.
- To care for another person.
- For urgent or pre-arranged medical attention, or to flee an emergency.
All non-essential retailers, hospitality and “personal care” such as hairdressers must close if they have not already done so under the tier system.
Restaurants and other places to eat may continue to operate for takeout and delivery.
But pubs will no longer be able to offer alcohol to go sales, due to the number of people gathering outside to drink.
The closing will see more than 550,000 business closings in England, according to property consultant Altus Group.
The company said this included 401,690 nonessential stores, 64,537 pubs or restaurants, 20,703 personal care facilities and 7,051 gyms or leisure centers.
He added that 21,119 local council schools as well as 2,645 private schools will also have to close in England.
The playgrounds will remain open.
All indoor and outdoor sports facilities, including golf courses and tennis courts, must close, and team sports cannot be held, even outdoors.
Elite sports such as the main league can develop under their own schemes.
Exercise is one of the few reasons people often leave home in Britain, along with shopping for essentials.
Physical education lessons are allowed for children who are still in school.
People who are extremely vulnerable (CVD) must stay home even if they cannot work.
They can leave to buy food and medicine, but should avoid crowded areas.
Scotland
Scotland will again be plunged into a national coronavirus lockdown starting at midnight tonight, Nicola Sturgeon announced.
The SNP leader said the new offensive, which will last through January, will include a legally enforceable stay-at-home rule.
Exercise and essential travel will be the only reasons people will be able to leave their homes.
The planned reopening of schools on January 18 will also be delayed until February 1 at the earliest, while workers are instructed to work from home whenever possible.
The rules on outdoor gatherings will be tightened to allow a maximum of just two people from two households to meet.
Pubs across the UK will be closed and in England, those who were allowed to sell take out drinks will not be able to do so, due to fear of people congregating outside.
Meanwhile, places of worship will be closed starting this Friday, but weddings and funerals will still be allowed.
A maximum of 20 people will be allowed to attend funeral services and a maximum of five people will be allowed to attend weddings.
Sturgeon said the tough new restrictions are necessary due to the “sharply increasing” rate of infections north of the border, as he warned that the lockdown could be extended beyond January if necessary.
The measures effectively signify a return to the restrictions seen during the first UK-wide lockdown that was imposed in late March last year.
All of mainland Scotland is already at the highest level of Covid-19 rules, but the case numbers have prompted Sturgeon to take more drastic action after 2,464 new cases were announced yesterday.
Schools in England will close immediately, joining those in Wales and Scotland. The last two countries have already canceled the exams this summer and it can also happen in England, with plans yet to be confirmed.
Setting out the measures that will take effect from Tuesday, the Prime Minister told the MSPs in Holyrood: “It is no exaggeration to say that I am more concerned about the situation we are facing now than at any time since March last year.”
Senior Cabinet Minister Michael Gove was understood to be discussing the restrictions with the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in a call prior to Johnson’s statement.
The latest data shows a 41% increase in the number of confirmed coronavirus patients in a hospital in England between Christmas Day and January 3, figures that have caused alarm in Whitehall and the health service.
The 2021 Scottish Highers and Advanced Highers exams had already been canceled.
Welsh
Wales has been under a total lockdown since December 20.
The restrictions mean that nonessential stores, gyms and hospitality venues must remain closed.
After three weeks the rules will be reviewed.
The current rules mean that nonessential retailers, hospitality services, and close-contact services such as hairdressers must shut down.
Only essential travel is allowed and work from home should be done “whenever possible”.
Two households can form a bubble of support, allowing each other to meet in private gardens or indoors only on Christmas Day.
House parties, gatherings, and events are prohibited, and schools must use online learning.
A single person household will be allowed to join another household through level four restrictions.
Schools and universities in Wales will move to online learning until January 18, the country’s education minister said today.
Kirsty Williams said the Welsh government would use the next two weeks to work with local authorities and educational settings to “better plan for the rest of the period.”
The government had previously arranged for schools to have flexibility during the first two weeks of the spring term, allowing them to choose when students would return to in-person learning.
Universities in Wales are required to start a staggered term and students should not return for face-to-face learning unless notified they can, he added.
The exams in Wales that were to take place in the summer had already been canceled.
