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The additional easing of lockdown restrictions in England – on account of come in this weekend – has been postponed for a minimum of two weeks, after a rise in coronavirus circumstances.
Casinos and bowling alleys will stay shut, as Boris Johnson stated it was time to “squeeze the brake pedal”.
Face coverings might be necessary in extra indoor settings, corresponding to cinemas.
England’s chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty, warned the UK might have hit its limits on easing restrictions.
Showing alongside the prime minister at a particular Downing Road briefing, Prof Whitty stated the “concept that we are able to open up all the things and preserve the virus beneath management” is incorrect.
Requested whether or not it was secure for England’s faculties to completely reopen to all pupils in the autumn, he stated it was a “troublesome balancing act” however “we have now in all probability reached close to the restrict, or the boundaries, of what we are able to do in phrases of opening up society.”
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Talking on the briefing, Mr Johnson stated deliberate modifications to steering for individuals who have been shielding through the pandemic, and recommendation for employers, will nonetheless go forward.
The rethink on easing England’s lockdown follows new restrictions for folks in components of northern England, after a spike in virus circumstances.
The prime minister stated progress in tackling coronavirus continues, with the each day and weekly variety of deaths falling, however warned that some European nations are “struggling” to manage it. The UK should be able to “react”, he stated.
- Manchester lockdown guidelines trigger ‘confusion and misery’
- Lockdown heightened in components of England
Figures printed by the Workplace for Nationwide Statistics (ONS) on Friday counsel an infection charges in England are rising, with round 4,200 new infections a day – in contrast with 3,200 per week in the past.
The ONS’s estimates of each day circumstances – based mostly on a pattern of households finishing swab checks – are increased than the figures for lab-confirmed circumstances reported by the Division of Well being and Social Care (DHSC) as a result of they embrace folks with out signs who wouldn’t in any other case have utilized for a check.
Highlighting the ONS figures, Mr Johnson added: “The prevalence of the virus in the group, in England, is prone to be rising for the primary time since Could.”
He stated that with “numbers creeping up” it was time to “squeeze that brake pedal in order to maintain the virus beneath management”.
He urged folks to “comply with the foundations, wash our fingers, cowl our faces, preserve our distance – and get a check if we have now signs”, summing the recommendation up with the slogan: “Palms, face, area, get a check”.
An additional 120 people have died with Covid-19 in the UK in keeping with the newest DHSC figures, bringing the whole variety of virus deaths to 46,119. In the meantime, 880 new lab-confirmed circumstances have been recorded.
Instances in England are growing for the primary time since Could.
Information from the ONS suggests there are round 4,200 new infections a day in contrast with 3,200 per week in the past.
This isn’t a return to the peak of the epidemic in March, however it’s telling.
Each restriction we ease will increase the power of the coronavirus to unfold, and the federal government’s scientific advisers have all the time warned there was not a lot wiggle room to elevate restrictions and nonetheless suppress it.
The uptick in infections is a warning we might have already handed the restrict of lifting lockdown.
That’s the reason Boris Johnson has delayed a number of the deliberate lifting of restrictions in England and face masks will change into a extra frequent sight.
The massive query stays round faculties. If the present guidelines are resulting in a rise in circumstances, can we open faculties as properly? If we open faculties will we have now to shut one thing else?
It’s value noting all that is occurring in July and scientists suspect the virus will unfold much more simply in the winter months.
You may learn extra from James right here.
Mr Johnson stated the deliberate reopening of “increased threat settings” on 1 August could be delayed for a minimum of a fortnight.
Which means the next won’t be able to happen till 15 August, on the earliest:
- the reopening of casinos, bowling alleys, skating rinks and remaining shut contact companies
- indoor performances
- pilots of bigger gatherings in sports activities venues and convention centres
- the enlargement of marriage ceremony receptions to permit as much as 30 folks
- magnificence therapies that contain the face, corresponding to eyelash, eyebrow and threading therapies
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Followers will now not be allowed to attend pilot sports activities occasions scheduled for this weekend in England
Followers attended the World Snooker Championship when it began on Friday as a part of a pilot to check the return of bigger crowds to sports activities venues. The event will now go forward with out spectators till a minimum of 15 August, which is when the ultimate is scheduled to start.
Wedding ceremony sector ‘itching to get again’
Neil White, 51, from Chorley in Lancashire, owns a marriage pictures enterprise. Of the 44 weddings he had scheduled for this yr, simply three bookings stay.”I believe I converse for the remainder of the marriage trade in that there’s a large quantity of fear and stress concerning the future,” he stated.
Mr White stated that whereas companies corresponding to pubs and eating places in have been in a position to reopen, these in the marriage sector “appear to have been brushed beneath the carpet” although they’re “itching to get again to work”.
“If it continues to subsequent yr there are a variety of companies which might be going to shut,” he added.
The British Magnificence Council stated the modifications have been “very disappointing for a sector that has already seen delay after delay in reopening”.
- At-a-glance: What can I do now?
Individually, face coverings might be obligatory in extra indoor settings the place persons are prone to come into contact with folks they have no idea, corresponding to museums and locations of worship, from subsequent weekend. They’re already required in outlets, banks, airports and different indoor transport hubs.
The prime minister stated the foundations for face coverings could be enforceable in legislation from eight August.
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Nevertheless, he stated the plan to pause shielding for these most weak to the virus will go forward from Saturday.
Which means some 2.2 million individuals who have been self-isolating in England through the pandemic can return to work, if they can not work at home, as long as their office is Covid-secure.
Steering for employers will even change, as deliberate, from the beginning of August, Mr Johnson stated.
The most recent announcement got here shortly after new lockdown guidelines have been launched in components of northern England, together with Larger Manchester, east Lancashire, and components of West Yorkshire. The foundations embrace a ban on separate households assembly one another inside their properties and personal gardens.
The modifications come as Muslim communities put together to have fun Eid this weekend, and almost 4 weeks after restrictions have been eased throughout England – permitting folks to fulfill indoors for the primary time since late March.
Labour chief Sir Keir Starmer stated the federal government had made the “proper determination” concerning the brand new guidelines for components of northern England, however urged it to “enhance” what he referred to as “extraordinarily poor” communication.
Ministers have stated police forces and councils might be given powers to implement the brand new guidelines.
In different key developments:
- Pubs and eating places in Leicester – which noticed the UK’s first native lockdown – are set to reopen from Monday as quite a lot of restrictions in the town are lifted
- A 14-year-old woman is being handled for a life-threatening sickness after being “gravely uncared for” by her household throughout lockdown. The Excessive Court docket’s Household Division has been requested to intervene to take the woman into care
- Hundreds of individuals descended on seashores in Bournemouth, Brighton and Poole, prompting some native councils to warn day-trippers to remain away
- Tory MP Craig Whittaker has defended his declare that some Muslims in West Yorkshire are “not taking the pandemic severely”
Are you getting married this weekend? Or have been you reopening your enterprise? How will the postponement have an effect on you? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
Please embrace a contact quantity if you’re prepared to talk to a BBC journalist.
