After recent rumours, it has now been confirmed that England will enter a national lockdown, effective from 00:01 on Thursday, November 5.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has just announced a full lockdown across England, which will last until December 2, with all but schools, universities and essential shops forced to close.
From Thursday, all non-essential shops and businesses—such as restaurants, pubs, salons and leisure centres—will have to shut. However, unlike the initial lockdown, schools and universities will be allowed to stay open. Places of worship will remain open for private prayer, but all services will be stopped.
Those who can work from home will be asked to do so, outbound international travel and overnight stays will be banned unless for work (this includes visits to second homes), and, in general, people will be asked to stay at home. Essential shops, including supermarkets and pharmacies, will remain open, and things like medical visits will be allowed. You will also be permitted to exercise outdoors, either alone, with members of your household or with one member of another household.
Support bubbles will allow children to see both parents if they are separated, and single adult households can still form exclusive support bubbles with one other household. Mixing with households will otherwise be banned indoors, except in cases where childcare or other forms of support are necessary (to care for a vulnerable person, for example).
This announcement follows concerns that hospitals across the country are becoming overwhelmed. According to the BBC, we are well on our way to seeing even higher hospitalisations and deaths than the first wave, so this second national lockdown is an attempt to slow the spread. Of course, for many, there is also the hope that the measures will be eased before Christmas and, come December 2, it is expected that we will return to the localised Tier system.
Johnson had supposedly been warned about the need for a national lockdown by Sir Patrick Vallance and Prof Chris Whitty, who head the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), but he resisted this in favour of the localised Tier system which has been in place for a just a few weeks. Scientists argued that local measures weren’t enough, and the Prime Minister has finally succumbed to pressures.
Of course this is very bad news for the hospitality industry, and all other “non-essential” businesses. If you’re in a position to, you might want to head to a restaurant with an outdoor area before the lockdown begins (here’s a list of London’s warmest and cosiest!), treat yourself to a takeaway, or order yourself an at-home kit, so you can recreate your favourite dishes from home. We’ll be sharing all the different ways you can help throughout the lockdown, so stay tuned.
This article is being updated.