England to Enter a Second Lockdown

England will enter a month-long lockdown from Thursday (5th November), Boris Johnson has announced.

The Prime Minister unveiled the new restrictions – which are set to last until December 2 –flanked by Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty and Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance during a press conference from Downing Street. Until 2 December, people in England will only be allowed to leave their homes for specific reasons, such as education, work or food shopping.

Addressing the public he confirmed that while the measures would not mark a return to the “full-scale lockdown" impoded during the first wave, the message remained the same: stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives and also acknowledged that "Christmas is going to be different this year".

Schools, colleges and universities will remain open while those who cannot work from home, such as workers in construction or manufacturing, will be encouraged to continue going to their workplaces. Pubs, bars and restaurants will close across the country, although they will be able to offer takeaway and delivery services. Non-essential shops, hairdressers and leisure and entertainment venues will also be shut.

The prime minister said the furlough scheme, which has seen the government pay a proportion of peoples' wages during the COVID-19 crisis but was due to end on Saturday, would now be extended through November.

Watch the news briefing from here.
https://youtu.be/cD3BPZpWDJU

The UK has now confirmed more than one million Covid-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, as the official coronavirus death toll rose by 326 overnight.

Source - Sky News and Evening Standard