London, and most of South East England, to enter tougher Tier 4 lockdown restrictions from midnight (00:01) on Sunday 20th December 2020.
Only four days after London entered Tier 3 restrictions, Boris Johnson has addressed the nation once again with yet more grim news. He said a new strain of the coronavirus is believed to be rapidly spreading through the capital with new infections and daily death tolls showing no signs of abating. This has forced a rethink from the government of its much-criticised “Christmas bubble” plan – Christmas has been cancelled for London.
What are Tier 4 lockdown restrictions (rules)?
Where Tier 3 lockdown rules were a bit loose and kept many businesses still open, Tier 4 rules are much stricter and resemble that of a full-on lockdown:
(These rules are still to be verified and will be corrected, if required, once the government’s website has be updated)
- Non-essential shops, gyms and leisure facilities, barbers and salons will have to close
- Hospitality venues should already be closed (from Tier 3 on 16/12/2020)
- Londoners will be ordered to stay at home
- The “Christmas bubble” policy is now scrapped for London and multiple households mixing indoors will be strictly prohibited
- Londoners cannot mix indoors with anyone not from their household
- Travel to be restricted to only essential travel for work, childcare, or healthcare
- People advised not to travel into London, unless essential
- Londoners cannot stay overnight away from their own home
What hasn’t changed (for now)
- Schools will not be closed, but are shut anyway for the Christmas break – they may remain closed for an extra week in the New Year
- Nurseries and places of worship will remain open
- The support bubble policy for single person households still applies
Tier 4 lockdown restrictions will be reviewed after two weeks, so will be in place until at least New Year’s Eve.