When will London go into Covid tier 2 lockdown and what are the new restrictions?

15 October 2020, 11:14 | Updated: 15 October 2020, 11:17

London will go into tier two later this week - find out the date, time and what the new rules will be.

Today (Thursday 15 October), it was announced that London will be moving into lockdown tier two.

The capital had previously been under the 'medium' tier one level, but it will this week be moved to the 'high' level.

Read more: New coronavirus rates show which areas in England could move to stricter Tier 2 and 3 lockdown

Speaking at London's City Hall, Mayor Sadiq Khan said there was "simply no other option".

"Nobody wants to see more restrictions but this is deemed to be necessary in order to protect Londoners.

He also told London residents: "We've got a difficult winter ahead."

When is London going into tier two?

London will be moved to tier two at midnight on Friday 16 October.

This means that the new restrictions will be in operation from the early hours of Saturday 17 October.

After the tiered system was announced earlier this week, London was initially placed into 'tier one', meaning general lockdown rules like the rule of six and 10pm curfew would be in force.

However, Sadiq Khan did warn that it would be a matter of days until the capital's level was changed.

Read more: Headteacher sends letter to parents warning of lesser known Covid-19 symptoms in kids

He said: "The virus is now spreading very quickly in every corner of London. The number of cases is rapidly increasing and all the indicators we look at are moving in the wrong direction."

London recorded 78 new cases of coronavirus per 100,000 people in the week up to 9 October, which is significantly below hotspots such as Nottingham, which recorded 843, and Liverpool, which had 609.

What will the new restrictions be?

Under the tier two level of lockdown, London residents will be banned from mixing indoors (including homes and pubs) with people from outside their households and support bubbles.

They will also be told to make as few journeys as possible, but will not be told to stay at home.

Will pubs and restaurants remain open on London?

Pubs and restaurants are still able to remain open under tier two, so they will continue to operate.

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