London, Nov 5(UNI) England on Wednesday enforced a new four-week lockdown wherein people have been told to stay at home and non-essential shops, pubs and gyms have been ordered to close.
As per the news rules, the people are to stay at home except for specific reasons, including education and work, if it cannot be done from home, households have been barred from mixing indoors or in private gardens, unless in a support bubble, BBC reported.
All non-essential retailers, leisure and entertainment venues are to be shutdown, with pubs and restaurants told to close except for takeaways.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak will on Thursday outline what economic support will be available to businesses and jobs during the lockdown in the House of Commons.
But unlike the first lockdown in March, this time schools, universities, and nurseries will remain open, and people will be able to meet other people who they do not live with in an outdoor public place such as a park or beach, but not indoors or in private gardens.
People have been warned that any kind of violation on their part will be dealt with strictly, mostly in the form of stiff fines.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson further said that after four weeks the lockdown will "expire automatically" on December 2, something which he described as "the best and safest path for our country".
On Wednesday, MPs backed the new lockdown measures which aims to combat a second surge in coronavirus cases.
The lockdown, which came into effect at midnight, replaces the three tiers of regional restrictions that were previously in place across England. MPs are set to vote on the next steps needed to tackle the virus before the four weeks are up on 2 December.
On Wednesday, the UK recorded 492 new coronavirus deaths - the highest daily figure since May 19 - and 25,177 new confirmed cases.
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