What can you do in lockdown: Cornwall and England in Alert Level 5

It's as cases continue to rise throughout the country, including in Cornwall - with the new variant of the virus particularly virulent. 

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Coronavirus in Cornwall: Monday, January 4

Here is what you can and cannot do as of the early hours of Wednesday morning:

National lockdown: Stay at Home

When you can leave home

You must not leave or be outside of your home except where you have a ‘reasonable excuse’. This will be put in law. The police can take action

against you if you leave home without a ‘reasonable excuse’, and issue you with a fine (Fixed Penalty Notice).

You can be given a Fixed Penalty Notice of £200 for the first offence, doubling for further offences up to a maximum of £6,400.

A ‘reasonable excuse’ includes:

● Work - you can only leave home for work purposes where it is unreasonable for you to do your job from home, including but not

limited to people who work within critical national infrastructure, construction or manufacturing that require in-person attendance

● Volunteering - you can also leave home to provide voluntary or charitable services.

● Essential activities - you can leave home to buy things at shops or obtain services. You may also leave your home to do these

things on behalf of a disabled or vulnerable person or someone self-isolating.

● Education and childcare - You can only leave home for education, registered childcare, and supervised activities for children where they are eligible to attend. Access to education and children’s activities for school-aged pupils is restricted, with schools to close except for children of key workers. People can continue existing arrangements for contact between parents and children where they live apart. This includes childcare bubbles.

● Meeting others and care - You can leave home to visit people in your support bubble ( if you are legally permitted to form one), to provide informal childcare for children under 14 as part of a childcare bubble (for example, to enable parents to work, and not to enable social contact between adults), to provide care for disabled or vulnerable people, to provide emergency assistance, to attend a support group (of up to 15 people), or for respite care where that care is being provided to a vulnerable person or a person with a disability, or is a short break in respect of a looked-after child.

● Exercise - You can continue to exercise alone, with one other person or with your household or support bubble. This should be limited to once per day, and you should not travel outside your local area.You should maintain social distancing.

● Medical reasons - You can leave home for a medical reason, including to get a COVID-19 test, for medical appointments and emergencies.

● Harm and compassionate visits - you can leave home to be with someone who is giving birth, to avoid injury or illness or to escape risk of harm (such as domestic abuse). You can also leave home to visit someone who is dying or someone in a care home (if permitted under care home guidance), hospice, or hospital, or to accompany them to a medical appointment.

● Animal welfare reasons – you can leave home for animal welfare reasons, such as to attend veterinary services for advice or treatment.

● Communal worship and life events - You can leave home to attend or visit a place of worship for communal worship, a funeral or event related to a death, a burial ground or a remembrance garden, or to attend a wedding ceremony. You should follow the guidance on the safe use of places of worship and must not mingle with anyone outside of your household or support bubble when attending a place of worship.Weddings, funerals and religious, belief-based or commemorative events linked to someone’s death are all subject to limits on the numbers that can attend, and weddings and civil ceremonies may only take place in exceptional circumstances.

There are further reasonable excuses. For example, you may leave home to fulfil legal obligations or to carry out activities related to buying, selling, letting or renting a residential property, or where it is reasonably necessary for voting in an election or referendum.

Exercising and meeting other people

It is against the law to meet socially with family or friends unless they are part of your household or support bubble. You can only leave your home

to exercise, and not for the purpose of recreation or leisure (eg a picnic or a social meeting). This should be limited to once per day, and you should not travel outside your local area.

You can exercise in a public outdoor place:

● by yourself

● with the people you live with

● with your support bubble (if you are legally permitted to form one)

● in a childcare bubble where providing childcare

● or, when on your own, with 1 person from another household

Public outdoor places include:

● parks, beaches, countryside accessible to the public, forests

● public gardens (whether or not you pay to enter them)

● the grounds of a heritage site

● Playgrounds

Outdoor sports venues, including tennis courts, golf courses and swimming pools, must close.

When around other people, stay 2 metres apart from anyone not in your household - meaning the people you live with - or your support bubble.

Where this is not possible, stay 1 metre apart with extra precautions (e.g. wearing a face covering).

You must wear a face covering in many indoor settings, such as shops or places of worship where these remain open, and on public transport, unless you are exempt.

Support and childcare bubbles

You have to meet certain eligibility rules to form a support or childcare bubble. This means not everyone will be able to form a bubble.

A support bubble is a support network which links two households. You can form a support bubble with another household of any size only if you meet the eligibility rules.

You are permitted to leave your home to visit your support bubble (and to stay overnight with them). However, if you form a support bubble, it is best if this is with a household who live locally.

If you live in a household with anyone aged under 14, you can form a childcare bubble. This allows friends or family from one other household to provide informal childcare.

You must not meet socially with your childcare bubble, and must avoid seeing members of your childcare and support bubbles at the same time.

Where and when you can meet in larger groups

There are still circumstances in which you are allowed to meet others from outside your household, childcare or support bubble in larger groups, but this should not be for socialising and only for permitted purposes. A full list of these circumstances will be included in the regulations, and includes:

● for work, or providing voluntary or charitable services, where it is unreasonable to do so from home. This can include work in other people’s homes where necessary - for example, for nannies, cleaners, social care workers providing support to children and families, or tradespeople. Where a work meeting does not need to take place in a private home or garden, it should not - for example, although you can meet a personal trainer, you should do so in a public outdoor place.

● in a childcare bubble (for the purposes of childcare only)

● Where eligible to use these services, for education, registered childcare, and supervised activities for children.

● for arrangements where children do not live in the same household as both their parents or guardians

● to allow contact between birth parents and children in care, as well as between siblings in care

● for prospective adopting parents to meet a child or children who may be placed with them

● to place or facilitate the placing of a child or children in the care of another by social services

● for birth partners

● to provide emergency assistance, and to avoid injury or illness, or

to escape a risk of harm (including domestic abuse)

● to see someone who is dying

● to fulfil a legal obligation, such as attending court or jury service

● for gatherings within criminal justice accommodation or immigration detention centres

● to provide care or assistance to someone vulnerable, or to provide respite for a carer

● for a wedding or equivalent ceremony in exceptional circumstances and only for up to 6 people

● for funerals - up to a maximum of 30 people. Wakes and other linked ceremonial events can continue in a group of up to 6 people.

● to visit someone at home who is dying, or to visit someone receiving treatment in a hospital, hospice or care home, or to accompany a family member or friend to a medical appointment

● for elite sportspeople (and their coaches if necessary, or parents/guardians if they are under 18) - or those on an official elite sports pathway - to compete and train

● to facilitate a house move

Support groups that have to be delivered in person can continue with up to 15 participants where formally organised to provide mutual aid, therapy or any other form of support - but they must take place at a premises other than a private home.

Where a group includes someone covered by an exception (for example, someone who is working or volunteering), they are not generally counted as part of the gatherings limit. This means, for example, a tradesperson can go into a household without breaching the limit, if they are there for work, and the officiant at a wedding would not count towards the limit.

Travel

You must not leave your home unless you have a reasonable excuse (for example, for work or education purposes). If you need to travel you should stay local – meaning avoiding travelling outside of your village, town or the part of a city where you live – and look to reduce the number of journeys you make overall. The list of reasons you can leave your home and area include, but are not limited to:

● work, where you cannot reasonably work from home

● accessing education and for caring responsibilities

● visiting those in your support bubble – or your childcare bubble for childcare

● visiting hospital, GP and other medical appointments or visits where you have had an accident or are concerned about your health

● buying goods or services that you need, but this should be within your local area wherever possible

● outdoor exercise. This should be done locally wherever possible, but you can travel a short distance within your area to do so if necessary (for example, to access an open space)

● attending the care and exercise of an animal, or veterinary services

International travel

You can only travel internationally – or within the UK – where you first have a legally permitted reason to leave home (such as for work).

UK residents currently abroad do not need to return home immediately. However, you should check with your airline or travel operator on arrangements for returning.

If you are visiting the UK, you may return home. You should check whether there are any restrictions in place at your destination.

Staying away from home overnight

You cannot leave your home or the place where you are living for holidays or overnight stays unless you have a reasonable excuse for doing so. This means that holidays in the UK and abroad are not allowed.

This includes staying in a second home or caravan, if that is not your primary residence. This also includes staying with anyone who you don’t live with unless they’re in your support bubble.

You are allowed to stay overnight away from your home if you:

● are visiting your support bubble

● are unable to return to your main residence

● need accommodation while moving house

● need accommodation to attend a funeral or related

commemorative event

● require accommodation for work purposes or to provide voluntary services

● are a child requiring accommodation for school or care

● are homeless, seeking asylum, a vulnerable person seeking refuge, or if escaping harm (including domestic abuse)

● are an elite athlete or their support staff or parent, if the athlete is under 18 and it is necessary to be outside of the home for training or competition

If you are already on holiday, you should return to your home as soon as practical.

Guest accommodation providers such as hotels, B&Bs and caravan parks may remain open for the specific reasons set out in law, including where guests are unable to return to their main residence, use that guest accommodation as their main residence, need accommodation while moving house, are self-isolating as required by law, or would otherwise be made homeless as a result of the accommodation closing.

Going to work

You may only leave your home for work if you cannot reasonably work from home.

Where people cannot work from home - including, but not limited to, people who work in critical national infrastructure, construction, or manufacturing - they should continue to travel to their workplace.

Public sector employees working in essential services, including childcare or education, should continue to go into work.

Where it is necessary for you to work in other people's homes - for example, for nannies, cleaners or tradespeople - you can do so.

Otherwise, you should avoid meeting for work in a private home or garden, where COVID-19 Secure measures may not be in place.

Going to school, college and university

Colleges, primary (reception onwards) and secondary schools will remain open for vulnerable children and the children of critical workers only. All other

children will learn remotely until February half term.

The government does not think it is possible for all exams in the summer to go ahead as planned and will be working with Ofqual to consult rapidly to put in place alternative arrangements that will allow students to progress fairly.

Universities

Those students who are undertaking training and study for the following courses should return to face to face learning as planned and be tested twice, upon arrival or self-isolate for ten days:

● Medicine & dentistry

● Subjects allied to medicine/health

● Veterinary science

● Education (initial teacher training)

● Social work

● Courses which require Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Body (PSRB) assessments and or mandatory activity which is scheduled for January and which cannot be rescheduled (your university will notify you if this applies to you).

Students who do not study these courses should remain where they are wherever possible, and start their term online, as facilitated by their university until at least Mid-February. This includes students on other practical courses not on the list above.

If you live at university, you should not move back and forward between your permanent home and student home during term time.

Childcare

There are several ways that parents and carers can continue to access childcare:

● Early Years settings (including nurseries and childminders) remain open

● Vulnerable children and children of critical workers can continue to use registered childcare, childminders and other childcare activities (including wraparound care)

● parents are able to form a childcare bubble with one other household for the purposes of informal childcare, where the child is under 14. This is mainly to enable parents to work, and must not be used to enable social contact between adults

● some households will also be able to benefit from being in a support bubble

● nannies will be able to continue to provide services, including in the home

Care home visits

Visits to care homes can take place with arrangements such as substantial screens, visiting pods, or behind windows. Close-contact indoor visits are not allowed. No visits will be permitted in the event of an outbreak.

Weddings, civil partnerships, religious services and funerals

Weddings, civil partnership ceremonies and funerals are allowed with strict limits on attendance, and must only take place in COVID-19 secure venues or in public outdoor spaces unless in exceptional circumstances.

Funerals can be attended by a maximum of 30 people. Linked religious, belief-based or commemorative events, such as stone settings and ash scatterings can also continue with up to 6 people in attendance. Anyone working is not counted in these limits. Social distancing should be maintained between people who do not live together or share a support bubble.

Weddings and civil partnership ceremonies must only take place with up to 6 people. Anyone working is not included. These should only take place in exceptional circumstances, for example, an urgent marriage where one of those getting married is seriously ill and not expected to recover, or is to undergo debilitating treatment or life-changing surgery.

Places of worship

You can attend places of worship for a service. However, you must not mingle with anyone outside of your household or support bubble. You should maintain strict social distancing at all times.

Sports and physical activity

Indoor gyms and sports facilities will remain closed. Outdoor sports courts, outdoor gyms, golf courses, outdoor swimming pools, archery/driving/shooting ranges and riding arenas must also close.

Organised outdoor sport for disabled people is allowed to continue.

Moving home

You can still move home. People outside your household or support bubble should not help with moving house unless absolutely necessary.

Estate and letting agents and removals firms can continue to work. If you are looking to move, you can go to property viewings.

Businesses and venues

Businesses and venues which must close

To reduce social contact, the regulations require some businesses to close and impose restrictions on how some businesses provide goods and services. This includes:

● non-essential retail, such as clothing and homeware stores, vehicle showrooms (other than for rental), betting shops, tailors, tobacco and vape shops, electronic goods and mobile phone shops, auction houses (except for auctions of livestock or agricultural equipment) and market stalls selling non-essential goods. These venues can continue to be able to operate click-and-collect (where goods are pre-ordered and collected off the premises) and delivery services.

● hospitality venues such as cafes, restaurants, pubs, bars and social clubs; with the exception of providing food and non-alcoholic drinks for takeaway (until 11pm), click-and-collect and drive-through. All food and drink (including alcohol) can continue to be provided by delivery.

● accommodation such as hotels, hostels, guest houses and campsites, except for specific circumstances, such as where these act as someone’s main residence, where the person cannot return home, for providing accommodation or support to the homeless, or where it is essential to stay there for work

purposes

● leisure and sports facilities such as leisure centres and gyms, swimming pools, sports courts,fitness and dance studios, riding arenas at riding centres, climbing walls, and golf courses.

● entertainment venues such as theatres, concert halls, cinemas, museums and galleries, casinos, amusement arcades, bingo halls, bowling alleys, skating rinks, go-karting venues, indoor play and soft play centres and areas (including inflatable parks and trampolining centres), circuses, fairgrounds, funfairs, water parks and theme parks

● animal attractions (such as zoos, safari parks, aquariums, and wildlife reserves)

● indoor attractions at venues such as botanical gardens, heritage homes and landmarks must also close, though outdoor grounds of these premises can stay open for outdoor exercise.

● personal care facilities such as hair, beauty, tanning and nail salons. Tattoo parlours, spas, massage parlours, body and skin piercing services must also close. These services should not be provided in other people’s homes

● community centres and halls must close except for a limited number of exempt activities, as set out below. Libraries can remain open to provide access to IT and digital services – for example for people who do not have it at home – and for click-and-collect services

Businesses and venues which can remain open

Other businesses and venues are permitted to stay open, following COVID-19 secure guidelines. Businesses providing essential goods and services can stay open. This includes:

● essential retail such as food shops, supermarkets, pharmacies, garden centres, building merchants and suppliers of building products and off-licences

● market stalls selling essential retail may also stay open

● businesses providing repair services may also stay open, where they primarily offer repair services

● petrol stations, automatic (but not manual) car washes, vehicle repair and MOT services, bicycle shops, and taxi and vehicle hire businesses

● banks, building societies, post offices, short-term loan providers and money transfer businesses

● funeral directors

● laundrettes and dry cleaners

● medical and dental services

● vets and retailers of products and food for the upkeep and

welfare of animals

● animal rescue centres, boarding facilities and animal

groomers (may continue to be used for animal welfare, rather

than aesthetic purposes)

● agricultural supplies shops

● mobility and disability support shops

● storage and distribution facilities

● car parks, public toilets and motorway service areas

● outdoor playgrounds

● outdoor parts of botanical gardens and heritage sites for exercise

● places of worship

● crematoriums and burial grounds

Public services

The majority of public services will continue and you will be able to leave home to visit them. These include:

● the NHS and medical services like GPs and dentists

● Jobcentre Plus sites

● courts and probation services

● civil registrations offices

● passport and visa services

● services provided to victims

● waste or recycling centres

● getting an MOT, if you need to drive when lawfully leaving

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