UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to set out a plan to MPs on Monday including details of rules for families visiting each other over the Christmas period.
It has been suggested that Coronavirus restrictions may be temporarily eased for a short time over the Christmas period, though despite speculation, the final measures are not yet known.
Full details of the plan are expected to be announced on Monday after they have been finalised. Today, Cabinet is expected to meet to discuss the plan.
This week, a new version of England’s three-tier local lockdown system is expected to be announced, ready for an introduction at the end of the national lockdown period on December 2. It is understood that the new version of the system will be largely similar to before national lockdown measures were implemented earlier this month, though some rules may be tightened and more areas are expected to be placed in the highest tier of restrictions.
Currently, the three tiers of the local lockdown system are Medium, High and Very High, referring to the Coronavirus risk level.
The Very High tier, also known as Tier 3, has the tightest restrictions including advisory against non-essential travel and is designed to be implemented in the areas with the highest prevalence of Coronavirus. Details of the adjusted tiers and which locations will apply to each of them are expected to be decided later this week.
A number of scientists have recently indicated that multiple days of extra, tighter restrictions may be needed for each day that restrictions are lapsed. Ministers across all four nations of the UK have been targeting a reduction in Coronavirus cases ahead of Christmas to try and allow for a safer time where many families come together for the festive break.
Discussions have been taking place between the four nations of the UK over plans for Christmas, though it is not guaranteed that each nation will implement the same rules. Each nation is in a significantly different situation to each other in terms of their Coronavirus outbreaks and the devolved nations have previously opted to implement tighter restrictions and faster than those present in England.
England has been in a nationwide lockdown since 5 November, with pubs, restaurants, gyms and non-essential shops closed.
