What England’s Covid lockdown rules mean for you

England is now in the second week of its nationwide lockdown, which has enforced strict restrictions on people across the country. 

The current lockdown came into effect on Thursday, November 5 and is due to end of December 2, at which point England will go back to the 3 tier system.

However, some government officials have warned that the lockdown may last longer. 

Most recently, in a press conference on November 16, the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock revealed that it was “too early” to say whether the country would emerge from lockdown on December 2 as initially planned.

He said: “At the moment most of the tests we are getting back, most of the positive cases, are from around the time when the lockdown came in, so it is too early to see in the data the impact of the second lockdown”.

“But we absolutely hope to be able to replace the national lockdown with a tiered system similar to the one we had before.”

During the same briefing, the chief medical adviser to NHS Test and Trace, Dr Susan Hopkins suggested areas with lower infection rates may emerge from the current lockdown to discover they face harsher restrictions than before.

She revealed: “We have recognised that the tiering of the country has had a different effect in each area… Tier 2 seems to hold in some areas and not so well in others, and so really it depends on how fast transmission is occurring and how well the individuals in the population are taking that advice in”.

“We see very little effect from Tier 1, and I think when we look at what tiers may be there in the future, we will have to think about strengthening them in order to get us through the winter months until the vaccine is available for everyone.”

Tory MP’s have since criticised the strengthening of the lower tiers, labelling it as “grim” and “terrible”. 

What do you need to know about the current lockdown?

Pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops have closed their doors, and members of the public have been told to stay at home for the remainder of November in a bid to reverse the spread of Covid-19.

Boris Johnson announced the lockdown on Saturday, October 31, after a rapid rise in coronavirus cases. MPs voted in favour of the proposals on November 4.

The Prime Minister’s announcement came on the same day the UK surpassed 1 million lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus. 

Mr Johnson was forced to act after Tier 3 restrictions across much of England failed to stem the spread. 

The Prime Minister said there was “no alternative” to the latest nationwide lockdown. His chief scientific advisers, Professor Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance, produced graphs which claimed deaths could exceed the first peak and the NHS could be overwhelmed during the winter months.

Official projections that pushed the country into a second lockdown have since been quietly revised to no longer suggest deaths could soon overtake those at the peak of the first wave.

The Justice Secretary, Robert Buckland, said law enforcement would continue the approach of “policing by consent” to try to get the public to comply with the new lockdown.

Here is everything else you need to know about what you can and cannot do in the second lockdown and when restrictions could end.

Will lockdown end on December 2?

The next two weeks will be “absolutely crucial” in ensuring that England’s coronavirus lockdown ends as planned on December 2, a Government scientific adviser warned on November 14.

Professor Susan Michie, a member of the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), urged the public to resist breaking current rules, to “be in a position” to spend the festive period with loved ones.

When asked what should replace current restrictions when lockdown ends, Prof Michie told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It’s too early to know. I think the next two weeks is going to be absolutely crucial.

“They’re going to be a very challenging two weeks, partly because of the weather, partly because, I think, the promise of a vaccine may be making people feel complacent.

“So I think for the next two weeks, everybody has to really get all their resolve together.”

Under current plans, a regional tiered system is set to replace the national lockdown when it ends on December 2.

Prof John Edmunds, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said on November 15 that it was “too early to judge” if this was too soon to lift the current restrictions.

However, Boris Johnson insisted on November 5 that the second lockdown would finish on December 2 to give people “as normal a Christmas as possible”.

Acknowledging that people are “anxious, weary and fed up”, Mr Johnson told a Downing Street press conference: “This is not a repeat of the spring. These measures – although they are tough, they are time limited.

“The advice I have received suggests that four weeks is enough for these measures to make a real impact.”

Yet Cabinet minister Michael Gove admitted on Sky News on November 1 that lockdown could be extended beyond December 2 if coronavirus infection rates do not significantly fall. 

Mr Gove later spoke out on the Andrew Marr Show stating that the government will be “guided by the facts.”

On November 16, Matt Hancock was also unable to promise the lockdown would finish on December 2, as it was “too early” to see if the level of infection would allow the country to fall back into the tier system. 

During the same briefing, Hancock shared that there was still a rise in daily cases in the UK, which saw 25,329 new daily cases, compared to 22,443 in the previous week. However, it is still too premature to see the effects of the national lockdown, which is now in its second week. 

The chief medical adviser to NHS Test and Trace, Dr  Susan Hopkins, also hinted that certain areas might face more severe restrictions than they experienced in the previous tier system, as tiers are more successful in some areas in comparison to others. She said that the new restrictions would depend on “how fast transmission is occurring and how well the individuals in the population are taking that advice in,” before suggesting that ‘strengthened’ rules may stay in place “until the vaccine is available for everyone.”

What will happen when lockdown ends?

England has plans to go back to the 3-tier system that was in place before the second lockdown.

Mr Johnson said in his lockdown announcement on October 31: “We will seek to ease restrictions, going back into the tiered system on a local and regional basis according to the latest data and trends.”

The tier system,  dubbed “Local Covid Alert Levels” – divides England into “medium” (Tier 1), “high” (Tier 2) and “very high” (Tier 3) risk areas depending on the current rate of Covid-19 infections.

The traffic light system works on a regional level to help stop the spread of the virus.

It is not yet clear which areas will go into which tier but the restrictions that apply with each tier remain the same.

Tier 1

The lowest level of restrictions instructs people to abide by the rule of six and the closure of venues at 10pm.

• All businesses and venues can continue to operate, in a Covid-secure manner, other than those that remain closed in law, such as nightclubs and adult entertainment venues
• 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-thru.
• Schools, universities and places of worship remain open
• Weddings and funerals can go ahead with restrictions on the number of attendees
• Organised indoor sport and exercise classes can continue to take place, provided the Rule of Six is followed
• People must not meet in groups larger than six, indoors or outdoors

Tier 2

This is for areas with a higher level of infections. This means the following measures are in place:

• All businesses and venues can continue to operate, in a Covid-secure manner, other than those that remain closed in law, such as nightclubs and adult entertainment venues
• 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-thru
• Schools, universities and places of worship remain open
• Weddings and funerals can go ahead with restrictions on the number of attendees
• Exercise classes and organised sport can continue to take place outdoors. They will only be permitted indoors if it is possible for people to avoid mixing with people they do not live with or share a support bubble with, or for youth or disability sport
• The “Rule of Six” will continue to apply outdoors and in private gardens
• People must not meet with anybody outside their household or support bubble in any indoor setting, whether at home or in a public place
• People should aim to reduce the number of journeys they make where possible. If they need to travel, they should walk or cycle where possible, or to plan ahead and avoid busy times and routes on public transport

Tier 3

The Government will set a baseline of measures for any area in this local alert level. Consultation with local authorities will determine additional measures.

The baseline means the measures below are in place:

• Pubs and bars must close, and can only remain open where they operate as if they were a restaurant, which means serving substantial meals, like a main lunchtime or evening meal. They may only serve alcohol as part of such a meal
• Wedding receptions are not allowed
• People must not meet anybody outside their household or support bubble in any indoor or outdoor setting, whether at home or in a public space. The ‘rule of six’ applies in open public spaces such as parks and beaches
• People should try to avoid travelling outside the ‘very high’ area they are in, or entering a ‘very high’ area, other than for things like work, education, accessing youth services, to meet caring responsibilities or if they are in transit
• People should avoid staying overnight in another part of the UK if they are resident in a ‘very high’ area, or avoid staying overnight in a ‘very high’ area if they are resident elsewhere

What does this mean for Christmas?

Mr Johnson warned in his lockdown announcement on October 31 that “Christmas is going to be different this year, very different, but it is my sincere hope and belief that by taking tough action now, we can allow families across the country to be together”.

On October 28, the Environment Secretary George Eustice said: “We want people to be able to celebrate Christmas as normal as possible, but it is too early to say exactly what the situation will be come Christmas, and to say what different parts of the country will or will not be able to do.”

It is likely larger families will have to rethink their family festivities. Best to put that seventh and eighth dinner setting away as your guest list is bound to be capped at six people. There is an exception for larger households that already have more than six family members. 

Depending on what tier you find yourself in, the same applies for festive dinners and parties. If you plan to enjoy a Christmas meal at a pub or restaurant, it is forbidden to have more than five friends at the table at any given time and more than two families mixing indoors and outdoors. Higher tiers are not allowed to mix with other households indoors at all, including in restaurants. 

On Wednesday November 11, the Department of Education published guidance to enable students to return home and spend the festive season with their families following a difficult first term back for many and a long period of uncertainty.

A short ‘student travel window’ will be in place from December 3-9 during which students can travel home on staggered departure dates that will be set by the universities. This will need to be done in a way that does not overload the public transport system, although many students may travel via their own transport or be collected. Students must adhere to the Government’s travel guidance on the wearing of face coverings and limiting car sharing with only their household or bubble.