Prime Minster Boris Johnson has announced the current National Restrictions in England will end on 2 December and will not be renewed.
From next Wednesday 2 December 2020 :
- The stay at home requirement will end
- The ‘Rule of 6’ will apply to outdoor meetings (except for Tier 3)
- Domestic and international travel will be permitted again subject to guidance in each tier.
- Collective worship can resume
- Shops, personal care, outdoor sports, gyms and the wider leisure sector can re-open (subject to tiered restrictions set out below)
There has been some confusion over the re- opening date for businesses but it has been confirmed the restrictions end at midnight on Tuesday 1st December meaning shops can re-open a day earlier than initially thought.
There will be a regional tiered approach based on scientific advice, with tougher restrictions where the virus is most prevalent. The tiers will be standardised and not negotiated or varied locally. They will be as follows:
Tier 1
- Rule of 6 Indoors & Outdoors
- People should work from home where possible.
- Table service in bars, pubs and restaurants. Last Orders at 10pm, closure at 11pm.
- All sectors open subject to restrictions on household mixing.
Tier 2
- Licensed premises must remain closed unless they are operating as a restaurant, serving drinks with a substantial meal.
- Last orders in licensed premises will be at 10pm and closure at 11pm (This is to allow customers to depart gradually).
- Spectator sports and business events free to resume with social distancing and capacity limits.
- No mixing of households indoors apart from support bubbles. Rule of 6 Outdoors.
- Gyms and leisure centres can reopen but exercise classes and organised adult outdoor sports can take place outdoors but cannot take place indoors if there is any interaction between different households.
- Business and sporting events limited in capacity and social distancing.
Tier 3
- All hospitality will close except for delivery, takeaway and drive-through;
- Hotels and other accommodation providers must close (except for specific exemptions, including people staying for work purposes or where they cannot return home);
- Indoor entertainment venues such as cinemas, theatres, bowling alleys and casinos must close.
- No mixing of households indoors except for support bubbles.
- Limited mixing subject to rule of 6 in some outdoor public spaces.
- Exercise Classes and organised adult sports can take place outdoors but people should avoid high risk contact activity.
- Gyms and leisure centres can re-open but group exercise activities and indoors sports should not take place unless with household or bubble.
- Organised activities for elite athletes, under-18s and disabled people can continue.
- Spectators and audiences will not be permitted at sports events or live performances. Drive-in Events are permitted.
The Support Grants which are being administered by BwD Council will apply to businesses required to close as a result of the local restrictions, or severely impacted by the restrictions.
Later this week (Thursday) the Government will announce which tiers the regions will go into based on current rates of infections, numbers of cases, current and projected pressures on the NHS. It is likely more areas will be in higher tiers.
A copy of the Covid-19 Winter Plan which sets out the above in more detail has also just been published and is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/937529/COVID-19_Winter_Plan.pdf
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