Scotland’s toughest coronavirus restrictions will apply across 11 local authorities, including Glasgow, from 6pm on Friday 20 November.
Level 4 restrictions include a ban on indoor socialising and the closure of pubs, restaurants, gyms and non-essential shops. Schools and nurseries will remain open.
Meanwhile, England is halfway through its current four-week national lockdown, though it hasn’t yet been confirmed whether this will be extended. Northern Ireland’s ‘circuit breaker’ has been extended by a week, with a partial reopening planned from 20 November.
Here, Which? explains the rules in more detail, and reveals what is and isn’t open across the UK.
More coronavirus news and advice from Which?
How does Scotland’s five-level system work?
Scotland launched its five-tier restrictions system on 2 November. Now, each area of the country is under a level from 0 to 4, with differing guidelines in place. You can find out which level each region is under on the government’s website.
From Friday, the following areas will be under Level 4:
- East Ayrshire
- East Dunbartonshire
- East Renfrewshire
- Glasgow City
- North Lanarkshire
- Renfrewshire
- South Ayrshire
- South Lanarkshire
- Stirling
- West Dunbartonshire
- West Lothian
Level 4 restrictions are set to last for three weeks in these areas.
Here’s what’s open and who you can meet under each alert level:
| Who can meet? | What’s open? | What’s closed? | |
| Level 0 | – Inside: up to eight people from three households – Outside: up to 15 people from five households |
– Most businesses – Schools |
– Adult entertainment – Nightclubs |
| Level 1 | – Inside: six from two households – Outside: six from two households |
– Most businesses but curfews may apply on hospitality – Schools |
– Adult entertainment – Nightclubs |
| Level 2 | – No socialising in homes – Inside a pub or restaurant: six from two households – Outside: six from two households |
– Shops, pubs and restaurants, but pubs can only serve alcohol indoors with main meals and may have curfews – Schools |
– Adult entertainment – Nightclubs – Some leisure and entertainment, including soft play and theatres |
| Level 3 | – No socialising in homes – Inside a pub or restaurant: six from two households – Outside: six from two households |
– Shops, pubs and restaurants, but alcohol can’t be sold inside or outside and curfews may apply – Close-contact services may need ‘additional protective measures’ – Schools |
– All leisure and entertainment, including cinemas and arcades |
| Level 4 | – No socialising in homes – Outside: six from two households |
– Essential retail – Schools |
– Pubs and restaurants – Gyms – Everything else except essential retail |
What are the rules in Northern Ireland?
Northern Ireland is currently under a circuit-breaker lockdown, with measures extended until Friday 20 November.
From Friday, barbers and beauty salons can reopen by appointment only, along with cafes and coffee shops, which must close by 8pm. Pubs and other hospitality venues will be able to reopen the week after, on Friday 27 November.
The following rules have been in place since 16 October:
- The hospitality sector is closed apart from deliveries and takeaways for food, with the existing closing time of 11pm remaining
- Other takeaway premises must also close at 11pm
- No more than 10 people from two households allowed in a ‘bubble’
- No overnight stays in a private home unless in a bubble
- Close-contact services such as hairdressers and beauticians are not permitted to open, apart from those needed for essential health interventions and therapeutics
- No indoor sport of any kind or organised contact sport involving household mixing other than at elite level
- No mass events involving more than 15 people (except for allowed outdoor sporting events where the relevant number will continue to apply)
- In addition, people are being advised to work from home if they’re able to do so and ‘distanced learning’ is to be applied for universities to the maximum extent possible with only essential face-to-face learning, and no unnecessary travel.
Shops and gyms remain open, as do places of worship (as long as face coverings are worn); funerals and commitals are limited to 25 people with no pre or post-funeral gatherings.
Wedding ceremonies and civil partnerships are limited to 25 people with no receptions.
What are Wales’ post-lockdown rules?
The firebreak lockdown ended last week, but things are definitely not ‘back to normal’ in Wales.
Non-essential businesses can once again reopen, meaning you can go to shops, pubs and restaurants. Alcohol can’t be served or sold after 10pm and licensed venues have to close by 10.20pm.
Supermarkets can also sell non-essential items, after these were controversially cordoned off for the lockdown.
Schools have reopened and you can once again meet people socially by forming an exclusive ‘bubble’ with one other household. Any number of people from this bubble can meet inside a home, but only a maximum of four can meet in a pub or restaurant.
Despite this, the guidance still recommends meeting outdoors rather than indoors where possible, ‘even in circumstances where the law allows you to meet indoors’.
You can meet people from outside your bubble, but only outdoors in public places and only in groups of four.
Holidays within Wales are permitted, but you can only leave Wales for ‘essential’ travel. People who don’t live in Wales can’t visit the nation for a holiday.
You can read the Welsh Government’s full list of guidelines here.
England’s current lockdown explained
The lockdown will run until Wednesday 2 December at the earliest. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the country could return to its current three-tier system after the lockdown ends. However, Michael Gove, minister for the Cabinet Office, confirmed in a Sky News interview that the lockdown might be extended.
The new restrictions mirror those imposed in March, although they aren’t as stringent in some respects. Pubs, restaurants and non-essential retailers once again have to shut their doors, but schools and childcare remain open, and outdoor socialising is allowed with one person at a time (not including children under school age).
At the core of the latest lockdown measures is the instruction to stay at home. You can only leave for specific reasons, including:
- Childcare and education
- Work, if your workplace is open and you can’t work from home
- Shopping for ‘basic necessities’ such as food and medicine
- Outdoor exercise or visits to an outdoor public place
- Medical appointments, concerns or emergencies
- To avoid the risk of injury or harm, such as from domestic abuse
- Volunteering or caring for vulnerable people.
This isn’t an exhaustive list, and more guidance will be provided soon. You can read the currently available guidance in full here.
You can only meet one person from another household at a time, outside and in a public place – so the ‘rule of six’ has come to an end. However, if you have children under school age, they can be with you and won’t count towards the two-person limit.
Households composed of one single adult can still form an exclusive ‘support bubble’ with one other household, who they can visit. Families with informal childcare arrangements, for example with grandparents, can also form a ‘childcare bubble’ with one other household.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said the furlough scheme, which was set to end on 31 October, will continue until March 2021 to provide support for businesses that have to close.
- Find out more: coronavirus job retention scheme extended into 2021
What about travel and holidays?
In recent months, the new rules have caused confusion around what people should do if they want to cancel their holidays.
Those living in Level 3 or 4 areas of Scotland are told to avoid unnecessary travel outside of their area, but there’s less detail on what Levels 0 to 2 mean for holidays. We’ll update this page if we find definitive answers. Meanwhile, the government’s full guidance is here.
In England, the rules are now much clearer. During the new lockdown, overnight stays away from home are not allowed. The guidance explicitly includes ‘holidays abroad and in the UK’ and stays in second homes.
People in Wales can go on holiday locally, but only essential travel is allowed outside of Wales.
All of this means you should be offered a refund if your flight is cancelled or hotel is closed. But if your flight goes ahead, you may not be able to get your money back.
While many insurers now offer ‘coronavirus cancellation cover’, this often only means if you or someone you’re travelling with catches the virus. Only one insurer (Nationwide) will cover you for cancelling due to a new lockdown.
Where are pubs and restaurants open?
- Where are they open? Scotland (excluding Level 4), Wales
In Northern Ireland and Wales, pubs, bars and restaurants are closed.
Pubs and restaurants can stay open in areas of Scotland under Levels 0 to 3, with different restrictions depending on which level the local area is under.
They have also reopened in Wales, with alcohol sales banned after 10pm and venues serving alcohol closing by 10.20pm.
- Find out more: a scientist’s view on social distancing in shops
Where are non-essential shops open?
- Where are they open? Wales, Scotland (excluding Level 4)
Non-essential shops are closed in England under current lockdown restrictions.
They are open in Wales and Northern Ireland, and in areas of Scotland under Levels 0 to 3.
In all four nations, face coverings must be worn inside shops, and retailers must implement social distancing measures to protect customers and staff.
- Find out more: a scientist’s view on social distancing in shops
Where are hairdressers and beauty salons open?
- Where are they open? Wales, Scotland (excluding Level 4)
Beauty parlours reopened across the whole of the UK in the summer. However, they have to close again under Northern Ireland and England’s latest firebreak lockdown restrictions.
They’ll also be closed in areas of Scotland under Level 4. At Level 3 in Scotland, ‘additional protective measures’ may be needed.
Wales is the only UK nation where hairdressers and beauty salons can open everywhere. Here, they’re expected to collect customers’ contact information.
- Find out more: where and when do you need to wear a face covering?
Where are gyms, pools and leisure centres open?
- Where are they open? Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales
Gyms are closed in England as part of the national lockdown, but they’re open in Northern Ireland for individual exercise. They’re also open in Wales. In Scotland, indoor gyms will close in areas placed into Level 4.
Where they are open, operators have been advised to use timed booking systems, limit numbers, and encourage showering and changing at home, although changing rooms are allowed to be open.
- Find out more: now the gym is open, can I quit?
When will cinemas, theatres and music venues reopen?
- Where are they open? Scotland (Levels 0 to 2), Wales
Cinemas and performance venues are closed in Northern Ireland and England under the current lockdowns. They also have to close under Level 3 and 4 of Scotland’s new system.
In Wales, cinemas are open. Customers must wear face coverings and provide contact details when asked.
- Find out more: how to get cinema-quality sound in your own home
This story was first published on 23 June 2020 and has been updated. The latest update was on 18 November to include new guidelines.
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/2020/11/lockdown-latest-new-restrictions/