Prime Minister confirms three-tier approach to tackling coronavirus
12 October 2020
Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has confirmed that the Government’s new plan of action for containing the spread of coronavirus will involve a three-tier approach, which will see cities categorised into one of three risk categories- medium, high or very high.
Certain businesses will be forced to close, including pubs, bars, betting shops, gyms, leisure centres and casinos, in the areas identified as being on the very high Covid-19 alert level. It is these businesses that will be able to access the extended Job Support Scheme (JSS), under which the Government is offering to pay staff for two-thirds of their usual salary, up to a maximum of £2,100 per month. The only region that is currently on the very high alert level is Liverpool City, and the new lockdown restrictions will need to be observed from Wednesday 14 October.
Areas that are already under additional local restrictions will automatically be placed into the high alert level, which means that any household mixing indoors is banned. The majority of areas in England will, however, be placed on the medium alert level, which means that they must abide by the current restrictions, such as the rule of six and the 10pm curfew for hospitality establishments.
It has been confirmed that all retail outlets, schools and universities can stay open.
The information in this article is accurate at the time of publication. For all the latest information, news and resources on how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting payroll professions, visit our Coronavirus hub.