Boris Johnson has announced a range of new measures to combat the rapid rise in coronavirus cases in the UK.
Here are the key points, which will come into force in England in the next week, from the Prime Minister’s statement to the House of Commons.
Pubs, bars and restaurants in England will be ordered to close by 10pm each night from Thursday under the new tough restrictions to curb the rapid rise in coronavirus cases.
He will use an address to the nation on Tuesday evening – expected at 8pm – to outline new measures, which will also restrict the hospitality sector to table service only.
According to reports, Mr Johnson will emphasise the need for people to follow social-distancing guidance, wear face coverings and wash their hands regularly, and urge people to work from home where it does not hurt businesses.
The government is also changing its message on encouraging people to go ‘back to work’ in offices.
He will unveil edhis plans to MPs in the House of Commons following a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning as well as a Cobra committee meeting with ministers and First Ministers from the devolved nations to discuss the surge in cases.
It comes after the government’s chief scientific and medical advisers held a joint press conference on Monday where they said that 200 or more people in the UK could die each day by mid-November if the current rate of infection is not halted.
Raising the Covid alert level from three to four – the second highest – indicated that the “epidemic is in general circulation; transmission is high or rising exponentially”.
Locally, all ten of Greater Manchester’s boroughs remain on ‘red’ alert for the third day running.
Infection rates continue to rise sharply across our region, the latest figures show.
Bolton still has the worst infection rate in the country where strict measures, similar to what the PM may set out for England today, are already in place.
