Measures for England outlined recently by the Prime Minister have now come into force in an attempt to reduce the number of transmissions and protect the NHS from rising hospital admissions.
The national COVID-19 measures are outlined here.
The current advice is listed below.
Stay at home
This means you must not leave or be outside of your home except for specific purposes. These include:
- for childcare or education, where this is not provided online
- for work purposes, where your place of work remains open and where you cannot work from home (including if your job involves working in other people’s homes)
- to exercise outdoors or visit an outdoor public place – with the people you live with, with your support bubble or, when on your own, with one person from another household
- for any medical concerns, reasons, appointments and emergencies, or to avoid or escape risk of injury or harm – such as domestic abuse
- shopping for basic necessities, for example food and medicine, which should be as infrequent as possible
- to visit members of your support bubble or provide care for vulnerable people, or as a volunteer
Stay safe outside the home
You should minimise time spent outside your home and when around other people ensure that you are two metres apart from anyone not in your household or support bubble.
Remember – ‘Hands. Face. Space’:
- hands – wash your hands regularly and for 20 seconds
- face – wear a face covering in indoor settings where social distancing may be difficult, and where you will come into contact with people you do not normally meet
- space – stay 2 metres apart from people you do not live with where possible, or 1 metre with extra precautions in place (such as wearing face coverings or increasing ventilation indoors)
Meeting with family and friends
You must not meet socially indoors with family or friends unless they are part of your household or support bubble.
You can exercise or visit outdoor public places with the people you live with, your support bubble, or one person from another household (children under school age and those dependent on round-the-clock care, such as those with severe disabilities will not count.)
Outdoor public places include:
- parks and the countryside,
- public gardens and allotments
- playgrounds
You cannot meet in a private garden.