These are the measures to be announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson at his 5 p.m. press conference, as I understand it. They will last until 2 December. And they are, in effect, a new ‘Tier 4’ that will be imposed for a month – initially to the whole of England – in a bid to curb a rise in coronavirus cases.
All pubs and restaurants are to close, though takeaways and deliveries will be permitted. All non-essential retail will close, though supermarkets won’t have to follow the Welsh example of fencing off non-essential goods. There will be no mixing of people inside homes, except for childcare and other forms of support. Manufacturing and construction will be encouraged to keep going.
Outbound international travel will be banned, except for work. Travel within the UK will be discouraged, except for work. Overnight stays away from home will be allowed only for work purposes, Courts, schools, and universities will remain open. Outdoor exercise and recreation will be encouraged. Private prayer will continue in places of worship, but not services.
It all starts at one second past midnight on Thursday. The regulations will be published in Tuesday, and MPs will vote on them on Wednesday. One source told me to consider the regulations as a Tier 4 for the whole of England.
After 2 December, the exit strategy is that different parts of the country will then have their local economies and behaviour governed by the existing tiers, namely Tiers 1 to 3, depending on how serious the virus is in these respective places.
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