Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced another national lockdown for England this month. The third national lockdown has seen the return of stay at home orders, and people are only allowed to leave their homes for reasons deemed essential. Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also announced this month that most of Scotland would enter Level 4 lockdown restrictions in response to high rates of Covid transmission.
How far can you travel in England’s national lockdown?
The lockdown guidance in England currently states people should only leave their homes for reasons deemed essential.
Reasons to leave home considered essential include for work when people cannot reasonably work from home, medical appointments, outdoor exercise and for caring responsibilities.
With regards to travel distances, the Government guidance does not outline an exact distance people can travel from home.
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But the Government is urging people to stay local whenever they do leave their homes.
The lockdown travel guidance states: “If you need to travel you should stay local – meaning avoiding travelling outside of your village, town or the part of a city where you live – and look to reduce the number of journeys you make overall.”
For outdoor exercise, the Government guidance states exercise “should be done locally wherever possible”.
The guidance adds you “can travel a short distance within your area to do so if necessary (for example, to access an open space)”.
Buying goods or necessary services should also be carried out “within your local area wherever possible”.
The Scottish Government guidance states: “Although you can travel for these purposes, you should stay as close to home as possible.
“For example, shop on-line or use local shops and services wherever you can.
“Travel no further than you need to reach to a safe, non-crowded place to exercise in a socially distanced way.”
The Scottish Government has issued guidance on how to travel safely during the lockdown.
The guidance states: “Where possible you should consider walking, wheeling or cycling, if you can, to reduce pressure on the road network and on public transport where capacity will be limited.”
