Boris Johnson has announced a slew of new restrictions across London and other parts of England just days before Christmas. Tier 4 restrictions are coming into force from December 20 following skyrocketing Covid-19 cases across the southeast of the UK.
Christmas relaxation guidelines, which were originally meant to cover a five day period, will now only apply on Christmas Day itself – and only for those in Tiers 1, 2 and 3.
New restrictions have caused widespread anger across the UK as the Government U-turns yet again on official advice.
Some 16.4million people are now subject to Tier 4 restrictions, which essentially resemble that of the two previous full lockdowns the UK has had so far.
Social mixing will be limited to meeting one other person in an outdoor space, and all non-essential retail will close.
The new rules came into effect at 12.01am on December 20.
There will be a review of the rules in England on December 30.
Boris Johnson said: “I know how much emotion people invest in this time of year, and how important it is, for instance, for grandparents to see their grandchildren, for families to be together.
“So I know how disappointing this will be. But we have said throughout this pandemic that we must and we will be guided by the science.
What is a support bubble?
You can form a support bubble with another household if any of the following apply to you:
• you are the only adult in your household (any other members of the household having been under 18 on 12 June 2020), or are an under 18-year-old living without any adults
• you live with someone with a disability who requires continuous care and there is no other adult living in the household
• you live with a child under 1, or who was under 1 on 2 December 2020
• you live with a child under 5, or who was under 5 on 2 December 2020, with a disability
