Social gatherings of more than six people will be banned in law
under new measures to control the virus.
The Prime Minister will today [Wednesday] set out that any
gathering over six people will be illegal, unless it meets one of
a limited list of exemptions.
Putting the new, lower limit in law will make it easier for the
police to identify and disperse illegal gatherings.
Failure to comply with an officer’s efforts to engage, explain
and encourage will result in the enforcement of a £100 fine. This
will double on each further repeat offence up to £3,200.
The government, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientific
Advisor have jointly agreed that urgent action is necessary after
seeing the number of daily positive cases rise to almost 3,000
recently.
The new rules follow a Zoom roundtable the Prime Minister had
with police forces last week, where officers expressed their
desire for rules on social contact to be simplified.
The rules will apply across England, to all ages, to gatherings
indoors and outdoors, in private homes, public outdoor spaces and
venues such as pubs and restaurants.
The changes will come into effect from Monday and reduce the
legal limit on gatherings from 30 at present to six.
Legal exemptions to the six person rule will apply. These will
permit certain gatherings in any number, for example where your
household or support bubble is larger than six, or where
gatherings are for work or education purposes.
Further exemptions will also apply, such as for weddings,
funerals, and organised team sports in a Covid Secure way. The
full list of exemptions will be published on gov.uk before the
law changes.
At a press conference today [Wednesday], the PM is expected to
say:
“We need to act now to stop the virus spreading. So we are
simplifying and strengthening the rules on social contact –
making them easier to understand and for the police to enforce.
“It is absolutely critical that people now abide by these rules
and remember the basics – washing your hands, covering your face,
keeping space from others, and getting a test if you have
symptoms.”
The rise in UK cases is following a similar pattern to other
European countries. Increasing infection rates are causing rising
hospitalisations in Spain and France, and deaths in Spain are now
rising too.
A new public information campaign will also launch tomorrow to
highlight how everyone can help stop the spread of the virus by
remembering to wash their hands, cover their face and make space.
‘Hands. Face. Space’ will run across TV, radio, print, out of
home, social and digital display advertising, with a new video
being released to show exactly how coronavirus spreads indoors.
With people expected to spend more time inside during the winter,
the film – produced with the help of scientific experts –
encourages the public to follow simple steps to reduce the risk
of infection.
