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Travel Off Path is warning all travelers headed to the UK that new local lockdowns have been announced resulting in movement restrictions, bar closures and home gatherings.
UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson announced on Monday that a new three level warning system will go into place starting Wednesday October 14th to limit the spread of COVID-19.
The three level warning system includes the follow restrictions:
Medium:
Areas Affected – Country Wide
- 10:00 pm curfew on all restaurants and bars
- No gatherings of groups larger than six
- Social distancing in effect
- Face masks in indoor public areas
High:
Areas Affected – Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Warrington, Derbyshire, Lancashire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, the North East, Tees Valley, West Midlands, Leicester, and Nottingham
In addition to the medium level restrictions:
- All in home gatherings are banned
- All indoor social gatherings are banned
- All outdoor gathering limited to six
Very High
Areas Affected – Liverpool
In addition to the medium and high restrictions:
- All bars and pubs will be closed
- Complete ban on social mixing indoors and in private gardens
- Do not travel outside of affected areas
Travelers should be aware that the three level warning system can be updated at anytime and restrictions could go into place without prior notice depending on their rates of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations.
Johnson told members of Parliament that he took “no pleasure” in announcing the new lockdown measures but insisted that “we must act to save lives.”
Today the Local COVID Alert Levels come into force. Use the postcode checker to find out what this means in your area:
— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) October 14, 2020
https://t.co/NkFmf7sFmh pic.twitter.com/51b8tUTjli
On September 24th, the UK government had already enacted sweeping new restrictions to help curb the spread of COVID-19 including:
- Restaurants closed by 10:00 pm
- Bars closed by 10:00 pm
- Table service only
- Social indoor gatherings limited to 6 people
- Social outdoor gathering limited to 6 people
- Weddings limited to 15 people
- Office workers are to work from home
- Mandatory use of masks in all indoor public spaces
The new 3 level system takes the restrictions one step further giving the UK government power to lock down certain areas that are seeing the highest transmission rates.
“We must rely on our willingness to look out for each other, to protect each other. Never in our history has our collective destiny and collective health depended on our individual behavior,” Boris Johnson said at the end of September in a video address.
Travelers should be aware of the following measures while in the UK:
- Failure to wear a mask can result in fines of £200 and double for each subsequent offense.
- Additional police have been added to streets across the UK to help enforce the use of masks and restaurant/bar curfews.
- The new measures only apply to England but other parts of the UK like Northern Ireland, Wales, and Scotland have their own measures in place.
Under the current UK COVID-19 entry requirements, travelers from all countries are permitted to enter the UK with a 14 day quarantine.
However, travelers are reporting weak quarantine enforcement measures which could lead to additional border measures.
The UK has confirmed 634,920 cases of COVID-19 and 43,018 deaths from the virus.
The nation is also seeing its largest number of daily cases since the pandemic began back in March.
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Originally published October 14th, 2020
Disclaimer: Current travel rules and restrictions can change without notice. The decision to travel is ultimately your responsibility. Contact your consulate and/or local authorities to confirm your nationality’s entry and/or any changes to travel requirements before traveling. Travel Off Path does not endorse traveling against government advisories
Vinny The Adventurer
Wednesday 14th of October 2020
I may never set foot in Western Europe, Australia, or New Zealand again. The way they have handled this is draconian and frightening as westernized nations.
Ra
Thursday 15th of October 2020
Where would be the place to go though? It seems most places are implementing similar policies