Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tightened restrictions and increased punishments as the Government battles to limit the rising number of coronavirus cases.<\/p>\n
The restrictions “may stay in place for six months”, said Johnson, in a statement in the House of Commons.<\/p>\n
Yesterday the UK’s Covid alert level was raised back up to 4 and today Johnson said “this is the moment we must act”.<\/p>\n
Data is showing that the long-held fear of a second wave in the autumn may be imminent and Johnson’s statement followed a press conference from the Government’s scientific advisors yesterday.<\/p>\n
Johnson said: “We always knew that while we might have driven the virus into retreat the prospect of a second wave was real. I’m sorry to say we have reached a perilous turning point.”<\/p>\n
Businesses will be subject to fines if they break Covid rules while individuals face greater levels of fines.<\/p>\n
He set out a series of measures that he hopes will help reduce the rate of transmission:<\/p>\n
– Workers are now being asked to work from home where they can.<\/p>\n
– From Thursday, all pubs, bars and restaurants must operate table service only – apart from takeaways – and all must close by 10pm.<\/p>\n
– Facemasks must be worn by staff in retail, indoor hospitality and private hire vehicles.<\/p>\n
– Covid-secure guidelines will become legal obligations<\/p>\n
– The “rule of six” will be tightened and a maximum of 15 people can now attend weddings. 30 people will be allowed at funerals.<\/p>\n
– Measures to open up attendance at sports clubs and business conferences will not now go ahead.<\/p>\n
Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Culture Secretary are “urgently working on measures” to assist these sectors. The live events industry is among the worst-affected of all sectors and the coming end of the furlough scheme is expected to unleash a huge number of redundancies.<\/p>\n
Johnson said: “I am sorry that this will affect many businesses getting back on their feet.”<\/p>\n
The measures set out by Johnson only relate to England. Large parts of England are already subject to further restrictions as part of the Government’s strategy of local lockdowns.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has outlined a number of new measures – and hints at support for live events<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":2066925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"coauthors":[81],"class_list":["post-2066924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","tag-top-story"],"yoast_head":"\n