Quiz: how well do you understand the UK's coronavirus lockdown restrictions?

After a University College London study recently suggested that confidence in understanding coronavirus lockdown restrictions varies greatly across the UK and has dropped significantly since the early days of the measures in March, we thought we’d test you on what you know. The regulations vary across the nations and regions of the UK, and yesterday the prime minister, Boris Johnson, announced that a raft of relaxation measures intended in England were to be scrapped. So how many of the changes to the country’s coronavirus guidelines have you taken in? Have a go at our quiz and see…

1. Should vulnerable people still be ‘shielding’ at home in England from 1 August according to government advice?

   1. Yes

   2. No

2. The government postponed plans to relax some restrictions from 1 August for at least a fortnight. When they are relaxed - which the government says it hopes will be 15 August - how many people will you be able to have at a sit-down meal for a wedding reception in England?

   1. 8

   2. 24

   3. 30

3. The English government are now recommending that face coverings are worn in museums, galleries, cinemas and places of worship. From what date has the prime minister said this will be enforceable by law?

   1. 1 August 2020

   2. 8 August 2020

   3. 15 August 2020

4. In Wales, two households are able to join together to form an extended household, to allow families or close friends who have been separated to reconnect. What is the maximum number of people that can legally be in an “extended household”?

   1. 8

   2. 12

   3. No limit

5. Can a household in Wales form an “extended household” with a household over the border in England?

   1. Yes

   2. No

6. As of 31 July, you could travel from one of these countries to England and not self-isolate on arrival. Which one?

   1. Albania

   2. Kosovo

   3. North Macedonia

   4. Turkey

7. In Scotland, since 10 July, you have been able to meet in groups of up to 15 people outdoors. But from a maximum number of how many households?

   1. 2

   2. 3

   3. 4

   4. 5

8. Indoor meetings have a different requirement in Scotland. You can meet up to eight people in an indoor setting. From how many households?

   1. 2

   2. 3

   3. 4

   4. 5

9. When does the UK government say it hopes to be able to bring back attendance at stadium events in England?

   1. October 2020

   2. December 2020

   3. March 2021

10. How many people are allowed to meet outdoors in Northern Ireland - provided they maintain social distancing?

    1. 12

    2. 24

    3. 30

11. When can cafés, bars, pubs, and restaurants reopen in Leicester?

    1. 1 August 2020

    2. 3 August 2020

    3. 8 August 2020

12. Children under what age are exempt from wearing mandatory face coverings on public transport in Scotland?

    1. 5

    2. 7

    3. 11

    4. 16

13. If you live in one of the areas affected by new local lockdown restrictions in Greater Manchester, Lancashire or West Yorkshire, can people from outside of the restriction area visit you at your house?

    1. Yes

    2. No

    3. Yes, but only if they are working

14. Under government guidelines, only one of these businesses is allowed to be open by law in England at the moment. Which one?

    1. Soft-play areas

    2. Indoor skating rinks

    3. Bowling alleys

    4. Indoor swimming pools

Solutions

1:B - In the prime minister’s announcement on 31 July he said “We also said we would pause shielding nationally from 1 August – based on clinical advice, that national pause will proceed as planned”. The government’s advice is that people who were shielding “adopt strict social distancing”. They state that “Strict social distancing means you may wish to go out to more places and see more people, but you should take particular care to minimise contact with others outside your household or support bubble.”, 2:C - Yes, you will be allowed 30 people at a wedding reception in England - potentially ruining your big day by limiting numbers, or alternatively making the wedding more affordable if you want to take a glass half-full approach. For those whose arrangements had to change with less than twenty-four hours notice though it was very much glass half-empty., 3:B - Yes, there’s a week’s notice period before the law will require that they are worn., 4:C - There’s no limit, so if you have huge families or groups of friends living together, there’s no impediment to forming the bigger “extended household”. However, adults are only allowed to belong to one “extended household”, and you can’t change it. So choose wisely. , 5:A - Yes - even though different rules apply across the border, it is fine to form a cross-national “Extended household”. The Welsh government stress that the arrangements will need to comply with the rules in both countries., 6:D - Flights from Turkey are fine, unless as part of the you've had a stop-over or transit in a country not on the approved list , 7:D - It is permissible to meet people from up to 5 different households, including your own household. The Scottish government states that you should not meet with people from any more than 4 different households in total in any single day, whether indoors or outdoors., 8:B - THe restriction here is that people from up to 3 different households can meet indoors. That, say the Scottish government, comprises the household whose house the gathering is in, and people from two additional households. They recommend that social distancing is observed., 9:A - The guidelines say that if prevalence remains around or below current levels, stadium events, as well as conferences and other business events will be allowed to recommence in a “Covid-19 secure” way. However, pilot events scheduled for 1 August were cancelled or are now being held behind closed doors, so the picture does not look great., 10:C - It’s thirty. The Northern Ireland Executive website says “Up to 30 people can meet up outdoors but you should maintain social distancing by being at least two metres apart. You should avoid visiting places such as seaside resorts and popular beauty spots whenever there is a chance that large numbers of people will converge and crowds will form”. There is a caveat though - the limit does not apply to "gatherings of a particular nature, including those organised for cultural, entertainment, recreational, outdoor sports, social, community, educational, work, legal, religious or political purposes.”, 11:B - There has been a gradual easing of restrictions in Leicester. However, according to the local authority website, from 3 August you will still only be allowed to visit pubs and restaurants with members of your own household, and the advice from the council is still to stay at home as much as possible. , 12:A - It’s five. Other exemptions in Scotland include if you are a retail worker protected from customers by a screen, or if you “have a health condition or you are disabled and a face covering would be inappropriate because it would cause difficulty, pain or severe distress or anxiety or because you cannot apply a covering and wear it in the proper manner safely and consistently”., 13:C - The government guidance says that it “will be illegal” for “people from outside of the restriction area to visit” you at your house. However, it also states that “people living inside and outside of this area can continue to travel in and out for work” and it states that “people can still come inside your home when they’re doing so as part of their work, including cleaners, nannies, and repair workers”. As one person prosaically put it on social media, “Basically you can’t see anyone inside unless there’s a card reader present for you to spend money.”, 14:D - Yes, swimming pools can be open, even though bowling alleys and skating rinks must wait until at least 15 August.

Scores

1. 0 and above.

   However you scored, keep safe and stay well

2. 14 and above.

   However you scored, keep safe and stay well

• Thank you for doing the quiz, and we hope you found it informative about the different and sometimes inconsistent regulations applying across the whole of the UK. The questions and answer were based on information retrieved on 31 July from the websites of the UK government ^{(1, 2, 3)}, Scottish government ^{(1, 2)}, Welsh government ⁽¹⁾, Northern Ireland executive ⁽¹⁾ and Leicester City Council ⁽¹⁾. If you believe there is an egregious error please email martin.belam@theguardian.com