The new restrictions came into force on Thursday.
New curfew rules came into force this week, with pubs now forced to shutter up at 10pm across the country.
The new restrictions imposed by the Government require all hospitality venues to close by this time although people are still allowed to go to friends’ houses, use the gym or to the cinema past that time – providing screenings start before the curfew kicks in.
For many, shaving two hours off their night is unlikely to make much of a difference, but for hourly-paid staff and hospitality venues, the hit is likely to be bigger.
So, just how long can we expect these new rules to stay in place?
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There’s no definite end date for the curfew, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson warning the measures could be in place for another six months.
Speaking about the new rules in the House of Commons earlier this week, the PM said: ‘We will spare no effort in developing vaccines, treatments, new forms of mass-testing but unless we palpably make progress we should assume that the restrictions that I have announced will remain in place for perhaps six months.’
The restrictions come in as coronavirus cases in the UK continue to rise, with the total number of cases – as of 25 September – passing the 423,000 mark.
Meanwhile, a list of 38 new areas have been added to the coronavirus ‘watch list’ as the number of cases continues to soar across England.
At time of writing, there are now 92 places on the list, including all 33 London boroughs.
From this weekend, more than a quarter of the UK population is set to be under local lockdown rules as new measures come into force in Leeds, Wigan, Stockport, Blackpool, Cardiff, Swansea and Llanelli.
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