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The UK has reached “a dangerous tipping point,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, setting a series of new coronavirus restrictions for England that could last up to six months.
Masks will be mandatory for retail staff, and weddings will be limited to a maximum of 15 people, as part of the new measures.
Penalties for breaking the rules will increase to £ 200 for the first infraction.
He warned that “significantly greater restrictions” could come if necessary.
“We always knew that while we could have brought about the withdrawal of the virus, the prospect of a second wave was real. I regret to say that, as in Spain, France and many other countries, we have reached a dangerous tipping point,” he said.
After a meeting of Cobra’s emergency committee this morning, Johnson told the House of Commons that he would provide police and local authorities with additional funding to enforce regulations and the option of resorting to military support.
He said the new rules were “carefully evaluated” to achieve the maximum reduction in the R-number, which measures how quickly the virus is spreading, while causing “the least damage to lives and livelihoods.”
He said this was “in no way a return to the March total lockdown,” with no general instructions to stay home. Companies, schools, colleges and universities will remain open.
In the last fortnight, hospital admissions have doubled and Covid-19 is likely to spread faster in winter, Johnson said, adding: “So this is the time we need to act.”
If these restrictions fail to bring the R number below one, the point where the epidemic is no longer growing, “then we reserve the right to deploy greater firepower with significantly higher restrictions,” he said.
