Your guide to lockdown lift-off
REGIONAL TIERS / The new rules / CHRISTMAS PLANS / Watching sport / SHOPS, SALONS & GYMS / Quarantine eased
SPECTATOR sports, concerts and business conferences will resume for the first time in nine months under the revamped tiers system, as Boris Johnson yesterday signalled that social distancing could finally end in the spring.
Under the Government’s winter plan, some fans will be allowed back into stadiums from Dec 3, when the second lockdown ends, although stadiums will remain empty in Tier 3, while indoor and outdoor amateur sports will also resume in all three tiers.
Meanwhile, hairdressers, beauty salons, nail bars and massage parlours will reopen their doors in all areas of the country, as will gyms, non- essential retail and places of worship, which will be permitted to perform services again.
The pub curfew will also be extended to 11pm, with last orders called at 10pm to give people more time to leave. Restrictions on socialising at home and outdoors will remain largely as before.
However, Mr Johnson announced a tightening of several restrictions in all three tiers, warning that without precautions, the virus could escalate.
Restaurants and pubs will reopen in Tier 1, but in Tier 2 they will have to close unless they are serving substantial meals, and in the highest tier they will be limited to takeaway services only.
People have also been urged to work from home “where possible” and avoid using public transport where they can.
Mr Johnson said that many areas of England were likely to move into higher tiers than before when they are formally set out on Thursday. While there will be a short relaxation of the restrictions over Christmas, Mr Johnson signalled they were likely to remain in place until March, at which point the rollout of mass testing and vaccines could “make the whole concept of a Covid lockdown redundant”.
Hospitality
Pubs, restaurants, cafes and hotels will be required to close in Tier 3 areas, with services limited to takeaway, click and collect and deliveries. Under the previous system, pubs and restaurants which served substantial meals were allowed to stay open in “very high alert” areas.
Venues in Tier 2 will now be placed under the previous Tier 3 restrictions, meaning alcohol can only be served with a meal. It means traditional “wet” pubs will be required to shut.
In these areas, people will only be able to dine in their household bubbles indoors, although the rule of six will apply in beer gardens and outdoor dining areas. In Tier 1, the rule of six will apply both outdoors and indoors.
Venues in tiers 1 and 2 will also abide by a new closing time of 11pm, with last orders called at 10pm.
Last night, industry leaders warned the change would send the hospitality industry into “freefall”, and urged Rishi Sunak to bring back the £25,000 compensation grants to prevent thousands of businesses collapsing. Ukhospitality pointed out that in other European countries, grants worth up to 75 per cent of lost turnover had been made available to firms to help them survive.
Kate Nicholls, the organisation’s chief executive, told The Daily Telegraph: “The Chancellor said at the weekend that now is not the time to be cautious, now is the time to spend to protect jobs.
“We are past that tipping point in hospitality. We are now in freefall and unless the Government wants to see mass business failure and millions of job losses, it needs to step in now.”
Spectator sport and concerts
Sports stadiums will reopen for the first time since March, with up to 4,000 people permitted entry in Tier 1 areas, falling to 2,000 in Tier 2 or 50 per cent capacity – whichever is lower.
For indoor sports, concerts and business conferences, a maximum of 1,000 people will be allowed to attend. The lower limits reflect the advice from scientific experts, who warn that indoor social contact is associated with a “far higher degree of transmission risk”. Spectators will not be returning in Tier 3 areas, unless the events are drive-in.
Those in attendance will still be required to abide by social distancing rules and the limits on household mixing in their areas. However, elite sport will continue to take place in all tiers.
The announcement brings to an end months of Premier League football, rugby and cricket matches taking place behind closed doors. Ministers faced criticism at the beginning of the crisis after they allowed the Cheltenham Festival and a Liverpool Champions League fixture to take place just days before the first lockdown was announced.
Last night, Oliver Dowden, the Culture Secretary, said: “This is a big step forward for sport. I’m delighted we are able to get the turnstiles turning sooner than expected, taking a cautious approach and starting with the lowestrisk areas first.”
Amateur sport
Gyms, leisure centres and swimming pools will reopen in all three tiers, with outdoor sports such as Sunday league football, tennis and golf also permitted.
However, in Tier 3 areas, people are encouraged to avoid higher-risk contact sports, suggesting amateur rugby may not be able to take place.
Following the launch of the Telegraph’s Keep Kids Active campaign, the Government has confirmed that children’s sports will be able to start again.
Spectators will also be able to attend amateur events in line with guidance for each tier. Restrictions will differ for indoor sports depending on the tier, although organised activities for under 18s will be exempt.
For those in Tier 1, indoor exercise classes and sports will have to comply with the rule of six. For example, people from different households could play three versus three volleyball, or four people from different households could play doubles tennis or badminton.
Group activities such as training sessions and exercise classes can take place in larger numbers, provided that people are in separate groups of up to six.
In Tier 2, the ban on mixing indoors means exercise classes and any indoor team sports will not be able to take place if there is any interaction between people from different households. This would allow people to play a singles tennis or badminton match indoors against someone from another household. In Tier 3, people are restricted to household bubbles only, meaning there should be no group activities.
Socialising and bubbles
There have been few changes to the original system, with people living in Tier 1 areas still expected to comply with the rule of six both indoors and outdoors. Families or households which exceed this number will be exempt.
In Tier 2 areas, household mixing is banned indoors, with the rule of six applying outdoors. The restrictions are tightened further in Tier 3, where household mixing is banned indoors and in most outdoor spaces, such as private gardens, with the exception of public outdoor spaces such as parks and beaches, where the rule of six applies.
People with second homes are still permitted to travel to and from their main residence.
People living in the top tier will also be limited to exercising indoors with their own household or bubble.
However, the Government has expanded the eligibility of support bubbles, which allow households to link together, to include parents who have a child aged under one or, in the case of those requiring additional care due to a disability, aged under five. The move will benefit couples such Mr Johnson and his fiancée Carrie Symonds, whose son Wilfred was born on April 29. A support bubble can also be formed if at least one household has only one adult, including a household where any children are under the age of 18, and where there is only one adult carer living with disabled adults requiring constant care.
A “childcare bubble” – where one household l i nks exclusively with another to provide childcare to under13s – can be formed.
Shopping
Christmas shopping sprees and Boxing Day sales have been salvaged after the Government announced non-essential retail would reopen across England.
I t comes after t he Chancellor acknowledged November and December were “very important” for the high street. Ministers have also privately expressed concern that many people, including the elderly who are unfamiliar with online shopping, could struggle to buy presents unless stores reopened.
Roger Barker, director of policy at the Institute of Directors, said: “The run-up to Christmas will be vital for companies, many of whom have invested significantly in becoming Covid-secure. It is
‘I’m delighted we are able to get the turnstiles turning sooner than expected, taking a cautious approach and starting with the lowest-risk areas first’
now imperative that directors ensure their organisations and customers stick to the distancing guidelines.”
The British Retail Consortium said the move would save thousands of jobs, adding that data from the Government’s scientific experts showed that retail was a “safe environment”, with firms spending hundreds of millions of pounds on measures including perspex screens and additional cleaning.
It added: “While retailers have stepped up their online delivery over the course of 2020, the bulk of Christmas shopping tends to be done in store.”
Hair and beauty
Hairdressers and beauticians will reopen their doors in England next week, after Mr Johnson quelled fears that they could remain shut for areas stuck in the highest levels of restrictions.
The relaxation of restrictions will also apply to barbers and other related services, although social distancing measures will apply. It comes after Millie Kendall, chief executive of the Briti sh Beauty Council, told The Daily Telegraph there was “no evidence whatsoever that keeping hair and beauty closed will have an impact on the R rate”. While hair salons and beauticians provide more close contact services than other industries, the Department for Health in November suggested that the closure of close contact services would only reduce the rate of transmission by “up to 0.05 per cent”.
Entertainment and recreation
Indoor entertainment venues such as cinemas, theatres, bowling alleys, casinos and soft play areas will be allowed to reopen in Tier 1 and Tier 2 areas from next week, but will remain shut in the highest alert level areas.
Downing Street also signalled that the same rules would apply for museums and galleries. While these venues were previously allowed to stay open in all tiers under the regional system, the decision to close them follows warnings from scientific experts that they could be contributing to the spread of the virus in Covid hotspots.
It represents another major blow for the film industry and comes a month after Cineworld “temporarily suspended operations” in all its 127 UK sites in response to the announcement that the latest James Bond film No Time To Die was being pushed to 2021.
Vue and Odeon have also announced partial closures. Last night, the UK Cinema Association, representing the interests of UK cinema operators, claimed the decision to keep them shut in Tier 3 made “absolutely no sense”.
“Cinemas provide vital support for good mental health at this time – much in the way that gymnasiums, which will be allowed to open it seems, do for physical health,” Phil Clapp, the chief executive, said. “But unlike gyms, cinemas are able to deliver an experience where people are sat socially distanced for much of their visit in strongly airconditioned theatres, all the while wearing face coverings.”
Meanwhile, many theatres are unlikely to reopen, even in the lower tiers, as social distancing measures mean they are forced to operate significantly below capacity, leaving many unable to turn a profit or break even.
Jon Morgan, the director of the Theatres Trust, said: “We are encouraged by positive developments in finding a vaccine and the introduction of mass testing, however, if there are any delays in the timetables for these, theatres are only supported by the extension of the furlough scheme and Government grants until the end of March.
“It is therefore essential that work continues across the sector and with the Government to identify mitigating measures that might allow fuller audiences to return safely to theatres as soon as possible.”
Work, commuting and education
People in all areas of England will be encouraged to continue working from home where possible.
It comes after ministers found that while more than a third of people stayed away from the office during the first lockdown, a significant proportion returned to work over the summer, with the trend continuing despite the “work from home” guidance being reinstated. This may have helped fuel the spread of the virus during the second wave, with the Government’s scientific experts warning that a third of people’s contacts are made at work and are often “of long duration and highly clustered”.
As a result, the Government will issue fresh guidance urging employers to “enable a greater degree of home working” and making clear “that anyone who can work from home should do so”.
However, those in industries such as manufacturing and construction, where home working may not be possible, will be permitted to attend work.
The exemption for business lunches, introduced to allow freelancers and self-employed workers to meet contacts, will remain in place in Tier 2 areas. In addition, the public will be urged to avoid travelling on public transport where possible.
Schools and universities will remain open, with the Government looking to deliver more tests for students before they return home for Christmas.
Weddings and worship
Mr Johnson has taken further steps to save the traditional Christmas by confirming communal worship will resume next month, meaning Advent and Christmas Day services can go ahead.
However, carols and hymns will remain on hold for now, with the Government expected to reach a final decision in the coming days as to whether singing in church is safe to go ahead.
Choirs will be permitted to sing, but the congregation will for now need to remain silent, Downing Street said.
In Tier 1 areas, church-goers will be able to attend in groups of no more than six, while in tiers 2 and 3, they will be required to stay in household bubbles.
The relaxation applies to all places of worship, including temples, mosques and synagogues.
Weddings will also resume in all tiers, although receptions will not be able to take place in Tier 3 areas. Couples seeking to tie the knot will be allowed up to 15 guests.
Travel and holidays
The ban on foreign travel will be lifted next week, with people free to go on holiday overseas again, providing they abide by quarantine and the Government’s travel corridors system.
However, people in Tier 3 have been advised not to travel outside of their areas except for work, education and other exceptional circumstances.
It came as Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, was preparing to announce last night that quarantine will be lifted in two weeks’ time, with those who test negative for Covid-19 on day five freed from having to self-isolate.
Blanket quarantine restrictions will end in time for Christmas, so families can travel to high-risk “red list” countries to visit relatives and reduce their time in self-isolation by up to nine days on their return. They will need to pay for a test from a private firm after five days, at a cost of between £65 and £120.
From Dec 2, people in Tier 1 will be asked to walk or cycle where possible rather than taking public transport, while those in Tier 2 will be asked to reduce the number of journeys made. People in both tiers will be advised to avoid entering top tier areas, where residents will also be asked to avoid travelling to lower tier areas, other than for work, education or for medical reasons.
‘The run-up to Christmas will be vital for companies, many of whom will have invested significantly in becoming Covid-secure’