UK Announces Third National Lockdown: What Does it Mean for Britons?

At the moment, multiple nations have suspended flights to and from the United Kingdom due to a new mutated COVID variant. Britain has confirmed almost 2.5 million confirmed cases of coronavirus, while its death toll of 75,400 is the second-highest in western Europe after Italy.

After introducing Tier 4 restrictions in London and southeast England due to a new COVID-19 strain, the British government decided to enact a full national lockdown for a third time to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The new quarantine will last at least until the middle of February, according to a statement by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. This is what the new lockdown means for Britons

• non-essential shops will be closed;
• household mixing is prohibited;
• people are only allowed to leave home for work, childcare, and medical reasons;
• schools will be closed;
• outdoor exercises are recommended to be limited to once a day. Indoor and outdoor sports venues will have to be closed;

90 year old Margaret Keenan, the first patient in the UK to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, administered by nurse May Parsons at University Hospital, Coventry, England, Tuesday Dec. 8, 2020

© AP Photo / Jacob King

• people should leave home for work only if it is absolutely necessary for them (like in the construction industry);
• university students will have to study remotely, as campuses are closed;
• restaurants (already closed for dining under Tiers 3 and 4) will be banned from sending takeaway alcohol;
• weddings and civil ceremonies will be restricted to 6 people and only allowed in "exceptional circumstances". The limit at funerals is still 30, but wakes and other ceremonies are also restricted to 6 guests.

The measures were announced despite the roll-out of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday - the second in the country following the UK launching a mass vaccination campaign with the Pfizer/BioNTech medication in December.