What does ‘stay in your local area’ mean for travel during lockdown?
PEOPLE across England have been ordered to stay at home in the latest national lockdown.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that we must stay at home except for essential reasons. There’s also a ban on travelling outside your local area.
He warned that the measures were necessary to stop the spread of Covid cases and relieve the severe pressure on NHS hospitals.
Northern Lincolnshire areas which were previously in Tier 3 are now subject to the same restrictions as the rest of the country. Mr Johnson said: “Today the United Kingdom’s chief medical officers have advised that the country should move to alert level five, meaning that if action is not taken NHS capacity may be overwhelmed within 21 days.
“Of course, there is one huge difference compared to last year. “We are now rolling out the biggest vaccination programme in our history. So far, we in the UK have vaccinated more people than the rest of Europe combined.” What does “stay in your local area” mean in the national lockdown rules?
Part of the guidance includes staying in your local area.
The government guidance says that this means “your village, town or the part of a city where you live”.
Wherever possible, you must follow this whenever you leave your home.
This includes shopping as locally as possible and exercising near your home.
What are the legal reasons to leave your home?
There are some exceptions to the stay are home order. You can go out for: work, if you cannot reasonably work from home
■ accessing education
■ caring responsibilities
■ visiting those in your support bubble – or your childcare bubble for childcare hospital, GP and other medical appointments or visits where you have had an accident or are concerned about your health
■ buying goods or services that you need, but this should be within your local area wherever possible
■ exercising outdoors. You can travel a short distance within your area to do so if necessary, such as accessing an open space attending the care and exercise of an animal, or veterinary services.