Following Borris Johnson’s speech on the 22nd September 2020, there are new restrictions and changes within the UK’s Lockdown.
Here are the critical changes which we must observe starting from Monday 24th September.
The main safety precautions are as followed:
- HANDS – you must wash your hands regularly and for at least 20 seconds.
- FACE – you must wear a face covering in enclosed spaces.
- SPACE – you must observe social distancing (2 metres) apart from others outside your bubble.
Face Coverings
– Customers and staff in private hire vehicles and taxis must wear face coverings (from 23 September).
– Customers in hospitality venues must wear face coverings, (except when seated at a table to eat or drink.)
– Staff in hospitality and retail will now also be required to wear face coverings (from 24 September).
– This guidance on face coverings being worn in close contact services will now become LAW .
(If you are already exempt from the existing face covering obligations, you shall remain exempt).
Working from home
– Office workers who can work effectively from home should do so in the winter.
– Public sector employees who work in essential services (including in the educational sector) should continue to go to work where necessary.
– If you cannot work effectively from home, you should return to work. Extra consideration should be given to those people at higher risk.
Businesses
- Businesses selling food or drink, social clubs, casinos, bowling alleys, amusement arcades (and other indoor leisure centres or facilities), funfairs, theme parks, adventure parks and activities, and bingo halls, must be closed between 10pm and 5am. This will include takeaways but delivery services can continue after 10pm (from 24 September).
- In licensed premises, food and drink must be ordered from, and served at, a table. Customers must eat and drink at a table in any premises selling food and drink to consume indoors, on site (from 24 September).
- Businesses will need to display the official NHS QR code posters so that customers can ‘check-in’ at different premises using this option as an alternative to providing their contact details once the app is rolled out nationally (from 24 September).
- Businesses and organisations will face stricter rules to make their premises COVID Secure (from 28 September). (A wider range of leisure and entertainment venues, services provided in community centres, and close contact services will be subject to the COVID-19 Secure requirements in law and fines of up to £10,000 for repeated breaches).
- Employers must not knowingly require or encourage someone who is being required to self-isolate to come to work.
Meeting people safely
– Support groups must be limited to a maximum of 15 people.
– Indoor organised sport for over 18s will no longer be exempt from the rule of six. ( There is an exemption for indoor organised team sports for disabled people (from 24 September).
– There will be a new exemption in those areas of local intervention where household mixing is not allowed to permit friends and family to provide informal childcare for children under 14 (from 24 September).
– Weddings and civil partnership ceremonies and receptions will be restricted to a maximum of 15 people (down from 30).
– Other significant standalone life events will be subject to the ‘rule of six’ limits, except funerals (from 28 September).
– Government has announced an extra £60 million to support additional enforcement activity by local authorities and the police.
– We cannot reopen business conferences, exhibition halls and large sporting events, so we will not be able to do this from 1 October.
Conclusion:
All of these measures above must remain in place until March next year according to the Government. These are the measures applied to England, but do check your local lockdown rules if you’re in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland