Coronavirus: England enters second lockdown

New regulations in effect for four weeks as of midnight on Wednesday

England has joined countries across Europe in entering a second coronavirus lockdown, with orders to stay at home and avoid foreign travel where possible among the restrictions now in force.

The measures came into effect at midnight on Wednesday – more than six weeks after the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) advised a so-called “circuit-breaker” lockdown, echoed shortly afterwards by Labour, to prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed.

Hours earlier, all but 56 MPs approved Boris Johnson’s proposed set of measures during an often fiery debate in the House of Commons, as the prime minister warned some hospitals were already caring for more Covid-19 patients than during the first spike and daily fatalities neared 500.

Amid the rising daily deaths and cases, his predecessor, Theresa May, spearheaded a Tory rebellion – attacking the government’s use of a projection of 4,000 deaths a day – which she argued was already visibly inflated by the date it was shown to the public – in its justification for the shutdown. Ms May accused ministers of choosing figures “to support the policy, rather than the policy being based on the figures”.

The dissent in parliament appeared to echo that on the street, with the public appearing significantly more divided over the imposition of a lockdown than in March – albeit still vastly in favour.

YouGov snap polling found 72 per cent of English people support the measure, compared with 93 per cent of Britons in March. The largest opposition now comes from 18 to 24-year-olds, of whom nearly a third disagree with lockdown.

While some fear the negative impacts will dangerously compound those felt in March, the second shutdown is less severe than the first.

Pubs and restaurants will again be shuttered, save for takeaway purposes, and non-essential shops will also close. 

Workers and firms can again take advantage of the furlough scheme – but not without months of government insistence to the contrary, during which period many likely lost employment and businesses as a result.

But unlike the first lockdown, schools, colleges and universities will remain open to all pupils. 

The lifeline of support bubbles will be in place from the start this time around, while support groups of up to 15 people can meet in person. 

Two people of different households can also meet in outdoor public spaces and children under five-years-old and those dependent on round-the-clock-care will not add to this total.

However, the home secretary Priti Patel has called for police to strengthen the enforcement of coronavirus laws, stressing this at a meeting of the National Policing Board on Wednesday.

It came as forces across the country increased patrols, urging would-be revellers not to “see tonight as an excuse for parties” and to stick to the rules in the last hours of the three-tier system.

And while it appeared significant numbers ventured out for a last taste of freedom, polling by YouGov suggested just eight per cent of the population intended to do so.

With infections again rising as the northern hemisphere approaches winter, England is merely the latest European nation to reimpose lockdown measures – following shortly behind Wales, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Czech Republic and Denmark.