![]() Why is action being considered in England? The maximum number of people who can gather at an indoor event will be 30 and 50 outdoors. Large events will not be allowed indoors or outdoors. There will also be a general requirement of two-metre social distancing in all premises open to the public and workplaces, where reasonable. ![]() In Wales, from Boxing Day, a rule of six will apply to gatherings in pubs, restaurants, cinemas and theatres. Indoors the limits will be 100 standing or 200 seated. This effectively bans supporters from sports stadiums. Scotland has announced tougher rules, including a limit of 500 people in outdoor public spaces for at least three weeks from Boxing Day. People are being urged to test themselves before meeting others and exercise caution, but this is not compulsory. People with confirmed cases must isolate for seven days, cut down this week from ten. ![]() In England they are still a light touch, with compulsory masks in confined spaces and proof of vaccination or negative tests required to enter large events and nightclubs. More areas were put into the top Tier 4 measures on Boxing Day, followed by a national lockdown on January 4. Elsewhere in England, the spread of the Alpha variant meant bubbles of three households were permitted only on Christmas Day. When did the prime minister announce the Christmas lockdown in 2020?Īfter weeks of trying to “save Christmas”, he was forced to ban household mixing for millions in London and the southeast on December 19. This year the hope is that a circuit breaker would split the epidemic into two halves that the NHS would find more manageable, while giving time to complete the booster programme. Johnson judged Wales’s attempt at a circuit breaker last year to be a failure because cases soared immediately afterwards. What is a circuit breaker lockdown?Ī relatively brief period of restrictions designed not to suppress coronavirus entirely but to delay its spread by bringing cases down so they climb from a lower base. It will mean Johnson and his team will not have a good idea of the speed of transmission as many people may not get tested until Monday. A paper released by the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) points out that the Christmas break will mean data will be much less good than previously. But if Omicron infects more people than other variants then even if there is a smaller percentage of hospital cases, overall the impact on the NHS could be worse than previous waves. There is increasing, but not definitive, evidence of this. But isn’t Omicron less dangerous than Delta? But if hospital admissions rapidly rise nothing can be ruled out entirely. Government sources have indicated that they want as far as possible to keep any restrictions to the minimum necessary. Will households be banned from mixing in each other’s homes? Seating may also be required in indoor hospitality settings. This has been imposed in Scotland but not Wales. It is also possible that the government could ban groups of more than six meeting inside venues. Large outdoor venues such as stadiums could also be asked to shut their doors. The most likely option would be to restrict the number of people allowed in large indoor venues such as nightclubs - that could effectively shut them. What restrictions are likely to be imposed? If Johnson does decide measures are necessary parliament is likely to be recalled on December 29 or 30, with the measures imposed for December 31. Does that mean that New Year’s Eve parties could be cancelled? Therefore the plan is to reconsider that data after Christmas. The key date is New Year’s Eve - that could be a super-spreader event. The period between Christmas and New Year tends to be quiet with people still spending time with families and friends. The calculation appears to be that having made the decision to allow celebrations as normal there is no need to decide yet. Why is Johnson waiting when Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have all already announced restrictions after Christmas? Johnson will meet scientists after Boxing Day to assess the data. Sajid Javid, the health secretary, said there would be no further announcements in England before Christmas - but he has not ruled out curbs afterwards. Has the government ruled out any further lockdown restrictions?
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