Following the government announcement 22nd September 2020 with the update to the current COVID-19 guidelines, we have highlighted the key headlines below:

• It is critical that everybody observes the following key behaviours:

• • HANDS – Wash your hands regularly and for at least 20 seconds.
  • FACE – Cover your face in enclosed spaces, especially where social distancing may be difficult and where you will come into contact with people you do not normally meet.
  • SPACE – Stay 2 metres apart where possible, or 1 metre with extra precautions in place.

Face Coverings

• Customers in private hire vehicles and taxis must wear face coverings (from 23 September).
• Customers in hospitality venues must wear face coverings, except when seated at a table to eat or drink. Staff in hospitality and retail will now also be required to wear face coverings (from 24 September).
• People who are already exempt from the existing face covering obligations, such as because of an underlying health condition, will continue to be exempt from these new obligations.

Working from home

To help contain the virus, office workers who can work effectively from home should do so over the winter. Where an employer, in consultation with their employee, judges an employee can carry out their normal duties from home they should do so.

Businesses

• Venues selling food or drink must be closed between 10pm and 5am. (from 24 September).
• In licensed premises, food and drink must be ordered from, and served at, a table.
• Customers must eat and drink at a table in any premises selling food and drink to consume on site (from 24 September).
• Venues will need to display the official NHS QR code posters so that customers can ‘check-in’ at different premises using this option as an alternative to providing their contact details (from 24 September).
• Stricter rules to make venues COVID Secure (from 28 September):
  • A wider range of leisure and entertainment venues will be subject to the COVID-19 Secure requirements in law and fines of up to £10,000 for repeated breaches.
  • Employers must not knowingly require or encourage someone who is being required to self-isolate to come to work.
  • Businesses must remind people to wear face coverings where mandated.

Meeting people safely

• Support groups must be limited to a maximum of 15 people (from 24 September).
• Indoor organised sport for over 18s will no longer be exempt from the rule of six. There is an exemption for indoor organised team sports for disabled people (from 24 September).
• There will be a new exemption in those areas of local intervention where household mixing is not allowed to permit friends and family to provide informal childcare for children under 14 (from 24 September).

The re-opening of large sporting events from 1st October has been paused due to the increase in transmission cases.

The government’s expectation is the measures described above will need to remain in place until March.

These measures apply to England – but there may be different rules if you live in an area under local lockdown: and you should check local lockdown rules. If you are in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, different rules may apply.

• The exemptions are;
  • If you are already in a household bubble of more than 6 people
  • COVID-19 Secure Venues can still welcome more than 6 people, but individual groups cannot exceed 6 people
  • Education settings
  • Workplaces –  providing they are COVID-19 Secure