New Covid lockdown rules for England: what you can and can't do from Thursday

In his latest press conference on Saturday, October 31st, Boris Johnson announced a new national lockdown across the UK, after a rapid rise in coronavirus cases. The new measures will come into effect on Thursday, November 5th and will last until December 2nd. Determined to "save Christmas", the Prime Minister has been forced to act after Britain's infections increased and Tier 3 restrictions across much of England failed to stem the spread. Johnson's announcement came on the same day the UK surpassed 1 million lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus. When will it start? Alongside the chief medical officer for England Professor Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed that a nationwide lockdown will begin on Thursday, November 5th. The measures will last throughout the entire month of November, and will end on Wednesday, December 2nd. After this date, different parts of the country will adopt an exit strategy, which will continue to follow the restrictions from the previous tier system, depending on the severity of infection in the local area. Read more: National lockdown – what the latest measures could mean for you What measures have been announced? The latest measures surpass ' Tier 4' measures, as the previous tier system was unsuccessful in stopping the spread of the virus. The key restrictions from the new lockdown include: They include: The closure of all pubs, bars and restaurants, though takeaways and deliveries will be permitted All non-essential retail will close A ban on the mixing of households, except for support or childcare reasons A restriction on travel, including outbound international travel (except for work). Travel within the UK is also discouraged. These severe measures mirror the the first lockdown, when Britons were told they could not leave home except to shop for necessities, to exercise once a day or for medical care. However, unlike the first lockdown, nurseries, schools, collages and universities will remain open.

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  Restaurateur who imported heated igloos to the Hove seafront faces loss as new lockdown looms

  The Telegraph
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  England to enter new lockdown; UK virus cases pass 1 million

  Associated Press

Solidarity with Jeremy Corbyn and to hell with useless Keir Starmer

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Coronavirus: What you can and can't do after England goes into second lockdown

England is to be placed under stricter nationwide restrictions from Thursday in an attempt to slow down the spread of coronavirus. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the new measures just after confirmed COVID-19 cases passed the one million mark across the UK. The new restrictions will initially be imposed from 0001 on 5 November until 2 December across the whole of England, with the plan to then ease them on a local and regional basis.

China destroys domes of famous mosques as cultural whitewash continues

China’s campaign to suppress Islam is accelerating as authorities remove Arab-style onion domes and decorative elements from mosques across the country. Stark changes have been observed at the main mosque in Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia province, where most of China’s Hui ethnic Muslim minority live. The bright green onion-shaped domes and golden minarets that used to soar into the sky atop Nanguan Mosque have all been pulled down. Golden Islamic-style filigree, decorative arches, and Arabic script that before adorned the mosque have also been stripped away. What remains is unrecognisable – a drab, gray, rectangular facility with “Nanguan Mosque” written in Chinese, as shown in photos posted online by Christina Scott, the UK’s deputy head of mission in China, on a recent trip. “TripAdvisor suggested the Nanguan Mosque in Yinchuan well worth a visit,” Ms Scott wrote on Twitter, along with ‘before and after’ photos. “Only this is what it looks now, after ‘renovations.’ Domes, minarets, all gone. No visitors allowed either, of course. So depressing.”

Phil Collins' ex-wife agrees to leave his Miami mansion she'd been living in with new husband

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Age, ethnicity and wealth could determine who gets vaccine first

People could be prioritised for a coronavirus vaccine depending on their sex, ethnicity and wealth under proposals being discussed by the government. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the body charged with devising the UK’s vaccine strategy, is considering the best way to decide who is most at risk from becoming seriously ill from COVID-19.neptune It may even use an algorithm developed by academics at Oxford University which factors in a wide range of variables including “age, sex, ethnicity, deprivation, smoking status, body mass index, pre-existing medical conditions and current medications”. The JCVI has already produced an 11 tier priority vaccination list as an “interim recommendation”, which is based largely on age but includes consideration of occupation and pre-existing medical conditions. However, it is currently being reviewed and an updated version is expected to be published in the next two weeks. The committee is likely to take into consideration what we already know about who is worst affected by the vaccine. According to Public Health England (PHE), twice as many working age men diagnosed with Covid have died compared to women; mortality rates in the poorest areas are double those in the wealthiest; and BAME communities have between a 10 and 50 per cent higher risk of death even once age, sex and social deprivation are taken into account. Low skilled workers have a death rate almost four times that of professionals. For security guards - the hardest hit of all in the first wave - recorded deaths were almost twice that of men working in social care. Officials say the current list is not expected to change dramatically but confirmed consideration is being given to incorporating a broader range of non-medical factors that influence risk. There is a tension between getting a system which prioritises by risk taking all factors into account and one which is easy to understand and implement, they said. “Members noted an update from DHSC on the individual risk tool developed by the University of Oxford”, say the latest published minutes from the JCVI. “It was noted that the tool would identify an individual’s risk of hospitalisation and mortality and could be used to stratify the population. “It was [also] noted that challenges with mass vaccine delivery could mean that a simpler programme could be the best way of delivering a programme. “The optimal programme could sit somewhere between the two approaches”. Pressure is growing on ministers to finalise a vaccine distribution strategy.

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Coronavirus ‘running riot’ as Boris Johnson considers new national lockdown

Sage scientist Professor Calum Semple said: ‘For the naysayers that don’t believe in a second wave, there is a second wave.’

Union calls for schools to be closed if England enters month-long lockdown

Kevin Courtney also said ministers should prepare to introduce school rotas for the end of any new restrictions.

Macron says he understands Muslims might be 'shocked' by caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad

President Emmanuel Macron said that he could understand if Muslims were shocked by cartoons of the prophet Mohammad, as French authorities on Saturday sought to ascertain if a young Tunisian suspected of killing three people in a knife rampage inside a Nice church had outside help France is on edge after the republication in early September of cartoons of the prophet Mohammad by the Charlie Hebdo weekly magazine, which was followed by an attack outside its former offices, the beheading of a teacher and now the attack in Nice.Macron sparked protests in the Muslim world after the murder earlier this month of teacher Samuel Paty – who had shown his class a cartoon of Mohammad – by saying France would never renounce its right to caricature.But in an apparent bid to reach out to Muslims, Macron gave a long interview setting out his vision to Qatar-based TV channel Al-Jazeera, seeking to strike a softer tone."I can understand that people could be shocked by the caricatures but I will never accept that violence can be justified," he said."I consider it our duty to protect our freedoms and our rights," he added in an extract of the interview to be broadcast from 4pm GMT (5pm Paris time).'Too early to say'           France is still reeling from the latest attack in Nice, which Macron has already described as "Islamist" terror.The assailant, 21, only arrived in Europe from Tunisia last month and, according to prosecutors, killed the sexton, a Brazilian woman and a French woman in the attack in the Notre-Dame Basilica on Thursday morning.He cut the throat of Nadine Devillers, 60, and the sexton Vincent Loques, 55. A Brazilian mother, Simone Barreto Silva, who was stabbed several times, took refuge in a nearby restaurant but died of her wounds there.The knife-wielding attacker was shot by police multiple times and is currently in a serious condition in hospital. Investigators have been unable to question him and his precise motivations remain unclear."It is still too early to say if there were others complicit, what his motivations were in coming to France and when this idea took root in him," said a source close to the inquiry who asked not to be named.Investigators believe the suspect arrived illegally in Europe on Italy's Mediterranean island of Lampedusa on September 20. He then arrived at the mainland Italian port of Bari on October 9 before coming to Nice just one or two days before the attack.French police are currently holding three people for questioning in the investigation, which is focusing on two telephones found on the suspect after the attack.A first man, 47, was detained on Thursday evening after being seen next to the attacker on surveillance footage the day before the attack.The second individual, suspected of contacting the assailant the day before the attack, was held on Friday. Police said Saturday a third man, aged 33, was arrested after being present when the home of the second suspect was raided.                Global threat to France The attack came with France still in shock over the October 16 beheading of teacher Paty by a suspected Islamist radical from Russia's region of Chechnya.The teacher had shown a class a cartoon of the prophet Mohammad in the wake of the controversy generated by the reprinting by Charlie Hebdo of the caricatures to mark the beginning of the trial of suspects over the massacre of its staff in January 2015.Even before that attack, Macron had promised a tough new campaign against Islamist radicalism that had aroused controversy and condemnation from Muslims around the world.Protests erupted Friday in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Mali, Mauritania and Lebanon, the latest in a string of mass rallies denouncing France.Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Saturday "strongly condemned" Macron's defence of the right to publish such cartoons.Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian warned that French citizens face a security risk "wherever they are" in the wake of the attack, saying alerts had been sent to all French nationals abroad.In the suspect's hometown of Sfax in central Tunisia, his family told AFP they struggled to believe he had carried out the attack, but relatives said he had turned to religion and isolated himself in the past two years.(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Usyk vs Chisora LIVE: Fight start time, updates and undercard results tonight

The Briton challenges the Ukrainian, who is the WBO mandatory for Anthony Joshua’s world heavyweight title

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  Usyk vs Chisora live stream: How to watch heavyweight fight online and on television

  The Independent
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  Usyk vs Chisora live stream: Free links to watch heavyweight showdown spread online despite police crackdown

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US election: Biden event in Texas cancelled as 'armed' Trump supporters threaten campaign bus

VP candidate Kamala Harris made three stops in Texas on Friday

New travel restrictions confirmed as part of national lockdown

Coronavirus latest news: Virus is 'running riot' across all age groups The countries you can (feasibly) visit right now The new travel rules for Tiers 1, 2 and 3 Sign up to the Telegraph Travel newsletter England is set to enter another national lockdown, Boris Johnson has confirmed, putting an end to recreational travel. For a month, starting from Thursday, November 5, and lasting until at least December 1, citizens are urged not to leave their homes unless for education, essential work, exercise, or to shop for essentials. While the Prime Minister made no mention of the rules on international travel, reports ahead of the press conference this evening suggested there would be a specific ban. Telegraph columnist and Editor of The Spectator, Fraser Nelson, tweeted: "Outbound international travel will be banned, except for work. Travel within the UK will be discouraged, except for work"; while ITV's political editor Robert Peston tweeted: "Outbound international travel will be banned, except for work. Same applies for travel within England and overnight stays away from home." Other measures to have been confirmed include the closure of bars and restaurants, except for delivery and take-away; as well as all non-essential retail. Schools and universities will stay open. Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel tweeted: "Simply put, a ban on international travel will push many holiday companies, airports and airlines over the edge. Many will go bust. Others will again withhold customer money to bail themselves out." Scroll down for more of the latest news.

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  Sport in England dealt 'devastating' blow by news of second national lockdown

  The Telegraph
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  Boris Johnson announces new lockdown for England and warns of several thousand deaths a day

  Business Insider

Hospitals may be forced to move Covid patients elsewhere

Several hospitals in the north of England are already at full capacity and may have to start moving patients to other regions, doctors have warned. Consultants fear that if Covid infection rates do not begin to fall significantly the NHS will be overwhelmed in less than a month from now. Members of the British Medical Association have reported that Intensive Care Units (ICU) in a number of regions, including Manchester, Liverpool and Hull, are close to capacity as the number of people hospitalised with Covid-19 continues to grow. Dr Vishal Sharma, chairman of the BMA’s consultants committee, told The Telegraph: “Capacity in the north of England is at the limits and in some places above the limit. Our next concern is ICU capacity, which is always tight at this time of year, even without Covid.” Dr Sharma said some general ward beds could be adapted to provide intensive breathing support for Covid patients, and the re-opening of Manchester’s Nightingale Hospital may also take the pressure off ICU departments. But more radical steps may have to be taken if numbers of hospitalised patients continue to rise. “We may have to move patients around the country to create extra capacity, but if the whole country starts to struggle things will get very difficult. “Patients should keep attending hospital, but parts of Liverpool, Manchester and Hull have begun to cancel elective surgery because we need the beds available.”

Australia's Labor Party on track to win Queensland vote in COVID-dominated race

The Labor Party in Australia's Queensland state was on track on Saturday to retain power in an election overshadowed by COVID-19, with voters approving the strict measures that put the state at odds with the national government. Final results were expected late into Saturday night, but a partial count showed Labor was polling well at a primary vote of 40.8% with the Liberal National Party on 34.2%, according to the Electoral Commission of Queensland. "The early numbers are strong, but it's a little early to call," Wayne Swan, the president of the Australian Labor Party said, according to local media.

It’s a triple whammy for Keir Starmer’s leadership, thanks to Jeremy Corbyn, Boris Johnson and Joe Biden

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UK lockdown news - live: Boris Johnson considers second shutdown amid coronavirus death toll warning

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  England Set for Lockdown 2.0, a One-Month Freeze on Retail and Restaurants

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  Dark Monday Hits Oil Market

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Delayed Strictly Come Dancing relegates Boris Johnson to another BBC channel

Nicola Adams, HRVY and Maisie Smith impressed the judges during the first elimination week.