News
Everything you can and can’t do under the new national lockdown rules in England
Everything you need to know about the new rules
England is now back in a third national lockdown, and we’re set to be here until at least the middle of February.
Here’s everything you need to know:
Stay at home
As was the case in March in the first lockdown, residents of England must now stay at home. You can only leave for work if it is absolutely not possible to do your job from home, such as construction, manufacturing or critical care workers.
You can leave your house to shop for necessities once a day, and there’s also a limit on outdoor exercise to just once daily.
You can meet with one person not in your household or with your support bubble outside, but social distancing should be maintained.
You cannot stay at another home other than your own, meaning holidays in the UK and abroad are no longer allowed, including at a second home or caravan.
Schools and Education
From today, Tuesday January 5th, all schools will be closed with learning carried out remotely, with the exception of children of key workers or those that are vulnerable.
You can leave your home to visit someone in your support bubble or to provide informal childcare to children under 14 as part of a childcare bubble.
BTEC exams scheduled to take place over the next few days will go ahead as planned. Summer GCSEs and A-Levels are under review between the government, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) and the Department for Education.
However, it is expected they will not take place this academic year, with Boris branding that ‘not possible or fair’.
Shops
All non-essential shops including retail, hospitality and personal care businesses must close. Restaurants can offer takeaway and delivery but are not permitted to serve alcohol.
A list of essential shops such as supermarkets, pharmacies, garden centres, banks and launderettes can remain open.
Essential shops include:
- Supermarkets
- Pharmacies
- Banks
- Off-licences
- Builders’ merchants
- Garden centres
- Launderettes
- Car repair shops
- Car washes
- Bike shops
- Market stalls selling essentials
Non-essential shops include:
- Hairdressers
- Personal care salons, like tanning shops and tattoo parlours
- Entertainment venues like cinemas, skating rinks and bowling alleys
- Restaurants and other hospitality venues (except for delivery or takeaway)
Sports, leisure and worship
All other venues must close including outdoor gyms, zoos, golf and tennis clubs. Elite sports can continue, as can PE lessons and clubs for children. Playgrounds can also remain open.
Places of worship can remain open for socially distanced services.
Weddings and Funerals
Events such as weddings, civil partnerships and funerals can take place with strict limits on attendance.
A maximum of 30 people can attend a funeral, and a maximum of six people can attend commemorative events such as ash scattering. People included in the service are not counted in the limits.
Weddings and civil partnerships can take place with six people in attendance and, according to government guidelines, only in exceptional circumstances such as if one partner is seriously ill.
Visiting care homes
Visits to see relatives in care homes can only take place with ‘substantial screens, visiting pods, or behind windows’. Close-contact indoor visits cannot take place and visits cannot take place if there is a Covid outbreak in the home.
International travel
Only essential journeys are permitted. Holidays abroad or in the UK or not allowed to take place.
Moving house
People are permitted to move house but people outside of your household or support bubble should not help with moving unless absolutely necessary. Estate agents, letting agents and removal firms can continue to work and viewings are also still permitted.
Commuters could be facing the steepest rise in the cost of train travel in more than a decade just months after prices were already increased.
It has been predicted today that train prices across England and Wales could rise by nearly 5% before the New Year.
The 2021 rise in prices was delayed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic when train travel was at an all-time low, however, tickets still saw a price rise of 2.6% in March.
Abhijit Tembhekar / Flickr
And this morning, the Retail Prices Index for July 2021 was confirmed as 3.8% by the Office for National Statistics, meaning passengers could see fares rise by 4.8% in 2022, which would be the largest hike since 2012.
This means that the cost of rail travel could increase twice within ten months, and would see a Manchester-Glasgow off-peak return rise by £6.30 to £94.90, according to Metro.
Though all hope isn’t yet gone – changes to the fares in 2022 are still yet to be confirmed.
Jon David Houghton / Wikimedia Commons
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “No decision has been made on national rail fares.
“The government is considering a variety of options and we will announce our decision in due course.”
This news has come as train travel in Manchester and beyond is on the rise – earlier this month, we reported that zero cases of Covid were found in Manchester Piccadilly Train Station, despite thousands of commuters using the station’s services as offices reopen.
News
UK to welcome more than 20,000 refugees following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan
Reports claim that a number of these refugees will be housed in hotels near Manchester Airport
Heroic school boy clears 18 tonnes of rubbish which had been fly-tipped along country road
Kind-hearted Mancunians thanked after charity receives huge donations for Afghan refugees
Manchester has a new Indian bottomless brunch with fizz and cocktails like mango mimosas
Americans are baffled at how far people actually walk in the UK
Train fares set to increase again in ‘biggest hike’ for a decade
