What the Government advice means for you

Members of the public with serious health conditions will soon be asked to self-isolate for 12 weeks and the Prime Minister said that we may have to take even more drastic action in the “coming days”.

Mr Johnson said: “The more zealously we can follow the scientific advice we have been given, the better we will be able to protect out NHS and the more lives we will be able to save. In the meantime, we are going to do whatever it takes.”

While mass gatherings from the theatre to elite sport have largely been abandoned for the foreseeable future, there are many other aspects of people’s lives that coronavirus is affecting. 

Coronavirus Bill

The emergency piece of legislation is wide-ranging, and you can read it in its entirety below, but here are the key points: 

1. Enhanced powers could last until 2022
2. Power to detain people and test them for coronavirus, force them to isolate if they test positive, and fine them £1,000 if they refuse
3. Require supermarkets to give the Government information on whether there will be disruptions to their supply chains
4. Allow employers to claim for the cost of statutory sick pay from the Government where an employee has coronavirus 
5. Give local authorities sweeping powers to order people such as crematorium managers to dispose of dead bodies in the event that death management becomes a problem
6. Allow Government to close down any shop, bar, restaurant or club and stop people from entering them

Read more: what is in the Coronavirus Bill?

Schools

All schools in the UK will close in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

From Friday, schools and nurseries will close “until further notice”, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said.

The Government had resisted calls to close schools due to the fact NHS workers are among those who may need to stay home and look after their children.

Officials have insisted that suddenly putting thousands of children in need of parental childcare could have a serious effect on staffing levels in public services such as the NHS.

To combat this, Boris Johnson said that healthcare workers still needed to be able to get to work, so they would continue to send their children to school.

Frontline health and social care staff, people involved in food production and delivery, and utility workers are among a list of workers deemed “essential” to the Covid-19 response.

The Government published a list of “key workers” in the early hours of Friday whose children will continue to be cared for at school amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Prime Minister said that exams would not go ahead in May and June, meaning GCSEs, A-levels and SATs are on hold.

But Mr Williamson has said the aim is for children to get their GCSE and A-level results in the summer.

Supermarkets and shops

Supermarkets up and down the country have seen scenes of apocalyptic panic buying (see video below).

Shops have not been closed by the Government and supermarkets and other vendors will remain open unless they decide to close.

Britons have been told not to panic buy and shop “as they would normally shop”.

The Business Secretary Alok Sharma said: “I understand the rationale [of panic buying], but I think for the vast majority of people – they are being sensible. As shelves get re-stocked, I think they will take the rational step and shop as they would normally shop.”

But, people were ignoring the advice as queues snaked around supermarket car parks, so supermarkets have introduced rationing on grocery products. 

The hysteria has prompted Sainsbury’s to introduce elderly and vulnerable-only shopping slots.

Shoppers will also be limited to a maximum of three of any grocery product and a maximum of two on the most popular items such as toilet roll, soap and UHT milk.

The Government has made assurances that shops’ supplies will remain fully stocked and under the new emergency Coronavirus Bill, supermarkets would be forced to tell ministers about any supply chain issues.

Supermarkets in other countries are one of the only establishments – along with pharmacies – that have stayed open during lockdowns. 

The Government has said that if people must leave their homes to purchase food, they should limit social contact with other people. 

Bars and clubs

The Prime Minister has closed bars, clubs, restaurants and theatres from now on.

Areas of close social contact such as pubs and clubs are high-risk areas for transmission of the virus. 

Mr Johnson said: “We are strengthening the measures announced on Monday.

“We need now to push down further on that curve of transmission between us.”

“We are collectively telling cafes, pubs, bars and restaurants to close tonight as soon as they reasonably can, and not to open tomorrow.

“We are also telling nightclubs, theatres, cinemas, gyms and leisure centres to close on the same timescale.”

“I want to stress that we will review the situation each month to see if we can relax these measures.”

Mr Johnson asked the public not to go out on Friday night, thinking they are “invincible”.

This could become legislation if the Coronavirus Bill is passed through Parliament. Ministers will be able to “prohibit or restrict events and gatherings, and to close premises, if the public health situation deems it necessary” the notes to the Bill say.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has placed quite a hefty emphasis on limiting smaller gatherings to counter the spread of the virus.

Public transport

Dozens of stations on the London Underground network have been closed following the outbreak of Covid-19.

Transport for London says the plans were designed to allow critical workers to make essential journeys and will see up to 40 stations which do not interchange with other lines closed on the Tube network.

Here is the full list of the closures: 

Buses in the capital will be reduced and people are being urged “not to use public transport for anything other than essential journeys” and the Waterloo and City line and Night Tube services will not run from Friday.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “I’m urging Londoners to only use public transport for essential journeys. Everyone should follow this and the other advice to help keep themselves and each other safe.”

TfL said it would also be gradually reducing the frequency of services across the network from Monday, “to provide a service for critical workers to get to where they need to – ensuring that remaining services are not overcrowded”.

London Overground, TfL Rail, the DLR and London Trams will also be running fewer services from next week.

Waterloo – Britain’s busiest station – has looked desolate even during weekday rush hours. 

Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Transport, has previously hinted railway services could be axed because there was no point running “ghost trains”.

Finance

The Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that the Government will underwrite the entire nation’s wage bill. Anyone who cannot work because of the coronavirus pandemic will be paid 80 per cent of their salary by the Government, capped at £2,500 per month, under an unlimited rescue package “unprecedented in the history of the British state”.

Mr Sunak also announced four major financial pledges. 

They are: 

1. Government-backed loans worth £330billion – equivalent to 15 percent of GDP – will be made available to support businesses

2. Extending the business rates holiday to all businesses in the hospitality sector and funding grants of up to £25,000 for smaller businesses

3. Three-month mortgage holiday, meaning those affected by coronavirus will not pay a penny towards their mortgage

4. No business rates for 12 months

Travel

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said British citizens are being advised against non-essential foreign travel for 30 days.

That refers to anywhere outside the UK.

In a Commons statement, he told MPs: “Based on the fast-changing international circumstances today I am announcing changes to FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) travel advice.

“UK travellers abroad now face widespread international border restrictions and lockdowns in various countries.

“The FCO will always consider the safety and the security of British nationals so with immediate effect I’ve taken the decision to advise British nationals against non-essential travel globally for an initial period of 30 days and of course subject to ongoing review.”

Mass gatherings

The Government has announced emergency service workers will no longer be supporting mass gatherings, as they would do in normal circumstances.

Mr Johnson said the Government wanted to keep emergency workers safe from infection during the coronavirus crisis, and “was moving emphatically away from” mass gatherings taking place.

The Prime Minister asked people to avoid attending mass gatherings and being with large groups of people, including at theatres.

This decision had already been taken out of the hands of sports fans, with the vast majority of elite sport – including Premier League and Premiership Rugby – being postponed for the foreseeable future. You can get all the latest updates on sports fixtures here.

Some bands have have cancelled tours, while others have defiantly played on. With festival season not too far away, there is uncertainty about how crowds will gather en masse in the coming weeks. 

Victorious Festival in Portsmouth remains scheduled to go ahead.

But seems likely that more cultural or sporting events will now be cancelled, with the Government advising people not to attend. 

If the UK decides to follow the paths of France and Italy, gatherings of more than 1,000 will be legally outlawed.

In New York, gatherings of more than 500 have been stopped, and Austria has taken a more extreme stance by banning people gathering in groups of any more than five. 

Vulnerable groups

People classed as vulnerable have been told to drastically change the way they live their lives by “social distancing”. The Government is strongly advising them to “significantly limit your face-to-face interaction with friends and family if possible”.

Those who fall into this category are: 

1. People aged 70 or older (regardless of medical conditions)
2. People under 70 with an underlying health condition listed below
3. Those who are pregnant

Underlying health issues can be largely defined by anyone who is instructed to get a flu jab as an adult each year on medical grounds, according to the Department of Health.

These conditions are set out in the box below.

Pregnant women are the most recent group to be added to the list, although the Government has stressed this is purely a precautionary measure as experts are “early in our understanding of this virus”.

Although the limited evidence suggested there were no complications in pregnancy, for many infectious diseases “there is a small but appreciable additional risk” and as this was a new virus there was no evidence for people in early stages of pregnancy.

“Infections and pregnancy are not a good combination in general and that is why we have taken the very precautionary measure while we try and find out more,” the Government’s Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said, adding that he would rather be overly cautious at this stage and admit it was overkill at a later date than underplay it and get it wrong.

What is social distancing?

Social distancing measures are steps you can take to reduce the social interaction between people. This will help reduce the transmission of coronavirus.

They are:

1. Avoid contact with someone who is displaying symptoms of coronavirus. These symptoms include high temperature and/or new and continuous cough
2. Avoid non-essential use of public transport, varying your travel times to avoid rush hour, when possible; 3.Work from home, where possible
3. Avoid large gatherings, and gatherings in smaller public spaces such as pubs, cinemas, restaurants, theatres, bars, clubs
4. Avoid gatherings with friends and family. Keep in touch using remote technology such as phone, internet, and social media
5. Use telephone or online services to contact your  GP  or other essential services

Everyone should be trying to follow these measures as much as is pragmatic, the Government said, and the advice is likely to be in place for some weeks.

Anybody with coronavirus symptoms – a new, persistent cough or a fever – should self-isolate.

Those living alone should do so for seven days, but those living with others should self-isolate as a household for 14 days. 

Where possible – this should mean not leaving the home at all, and getting groceries delivered to the property.

Care homes

Mr Johnson has said “unnecessary” visits to friends and relatives in care homes should cease.

The Prime Minister said: “You can take it from what we have just said about avoiding all unnecessary contact for those particular groups – the really strong advice that we are giving to people to avoid unnecessary contact with the over-70s, those with particular health conditions – absolutely, we don’t want to see people unnecessarily visiting care homes.”

Government policy will change in the next week to mandate 12 weeks’ self-isolation for the elderly and vulnerable.

Universities

There are no Government-enforced closures, but many universities have taken it upon themselves to radically change their day-to-day running. 

Oxford and Cambridge sent their students home, while many others, such as the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), announced an end to face-to-face lessons. Until the end of the academic year, all classes, exams and assessments will take place online.

Durham University has also cancelled all classroom-based lessons next week, along with all foreign field trips.

Students at King’s College London were told that that most “traditional exams” will not go ahead and alternative assessment formats and modes will be used instead. Law students were told they would be doing “take home” exams.

Coventry University said that graduation ceremonies held between March and April will be postponed due to “ongoing uncertainty” created by the coronavirus outbreak. Certificates will be posted to students’ home addresses instead.  

Meanwhile, some students have threatened to take matters into their own hands amid inaction in the face of the spread of the virus, such as a group of undergraduates at Warwick University’s business school, who called for a boycott of a series of exams.

Courts

Criminal trials are to be put on hold as part of the ongoing efforts to delay the spread of coronavirus.

In a statement, it was announced that the Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett – the most senior judge in England and Wales – has decided no new trial should start in any Crown Court unless it is expected to last for three days or fewer.

As a result, cases longer than three days that were due to start before the end of April will be postponed.

The announcement came after pressure mounted on the Government to make clear its strategy for courts, amid growing concerns about the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on court business.

The statement said the impact of the public health emergency on the operation of the courts has been under “constant review”, and that criminal trials pose “particular problems in a fast-moving situation” because of the involvement of many participants including the judge, jurors, defendants, lawyers, witnesses and court staff.

Nurseries

As with schools, all will shut by the end of the week.

Deliveries

Although there might be a longer wait for a slot, supermarket deliveries are going ahead as usual. 

Companies such as Deliveroo and Uber Eats have introduced a no-contact policy, which means drivers drop the food off on doorsteps instead of handing it to the customer. 

For the Royal Mail, it’s business as usual.

Libraries

Although there is no Government advice to close libraries, some smaller local hubs have already shut as a precaution. 

In Eastbourne, East Sussex, a number of centres have closed for four weeks. 

Gyms

All gyms will be closed from Friday evening until further notice.

Cinemas and theatres

All cinemas and theatres will close from Friday night.

The virus has the potential to cause serious damage to the industry.

The latest James Bond film, No Time To Die, has been pushed back to November, while many upcoming releases, including A Quiet Place 2, The Secret Garden and Disney’s Mulan, have been postponed indefinitely.

The move comes after theatres in the West End and around the UK closed.

The Society Of London Theatre – which represents hundreds of theatres in the capital including the National Theatre, London Palladium and London Coliseum – and UK Theatre said the decision was “not taken lightly”.

The Royal Shakespeare Company also announced its three theatres will close following the Government’s advice.

Hotels

Guests arriving at Britain’s hotels can still expect to check in as planned. 

There are still deals available online for getaways to Britain’s favourite destinations.