Can I be fined for sitting on a bench? New lockdown rules and restrictions Boris Johnson could impose
NEW Covid restrictions are reportedly being considered by ministers because the public aren't adhering to lockdown rules as strictly as they should be.
Scientists have also warned the current Covid measures do not go far enough to stop cases exploding, instead calling for a "total clampdown".
⚠️ Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates
Can I be fined for sitting on a park bench?
Sitting on a park bench is not listed by the government as a reasonable excuse to leave one's home, meaning it could be punishable in some circumstances.
Police have been told to "move quickly" to fine people for being outside of their home when they shouldn't be.
And those who "break the rules or refuse to comply where they should without good reason will find officers moving much more quickly to enforcement action," Dame Cressida Dick said today.
Fixed penalty notices of £200 will be issued for a first offence of any blatant breach, with this doubling for further offences up to a maximum of £6,400.
What are the current rules around sitting outdoors?
Ministers have warned against people relaxing on benches with Home Secretary Priti Patel warning people they will be moved on if they sit down outside without a reasonable excuse.
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi has said similar, telling Times Radio: “Don’t go out and sit or have that opportunity of social interaction, because you’re helping the virus and that’s what we want to avoid.”
What tougher Covid lockdown restrictions could be imposed?
Exercise
Current guidelines allow outdoor exercise with your household/support bubble, or with one other person from outside your household.
The rules also say you should stay local to your area.
A government source, however, suggested exercise could be restricted further, with no meeting of households, if people continued to go against the rules.
Face masks
Masks are not currently mandatory in offices, but could become so after England's Chief Medical Officer insisted people wear masks inside.
The government could also make face masks compulsory in some crowded spaces outside - such as supermarket queues - with Sadiq Khan calling on Londoners to routinely wear coverings outdoors as well as in.
Several scientists studying the virus say wearing masks outdoors is not necessary and the risk of catching Covid from a jogger running past is extremely low.
But, if you were standing in a queue or huddling around a market stall they said wearing a mask was recommended.
Support bubbles
Matt Hancock last night promised support bubbles will remain in place and unaffected by any changes in the rules.
His comments came after Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson said they were among measures being kept under “constant review”.
But the health secretary told a Downing Street press conference yesterday: “I can rule out removing the bubbles that we have in place.
"The childcare bubbles, the support bubbles, are very important and we’re going to keep them."
Closures
Churches, mosques, synagogues and other places of worship could be closed, following calls from scientists.
Independent Sage member Anthony Costello, a professor of global health at UCL and a former WHO director, told : "We are in a national crisis with a pandemic out of control.
"We should have no nurseries open, no synagogues, no churches, no mosques. We should have compulsory masks, two-metre distancing.
"We have to take this really seriously - that's what Asian states did.
"The longer we allow it to go on transmitting, the quicker we are going to get a resistant virus to a vaccine, then we are in real doo-doo."
When could lockdown restrictions be tightened?
It is unclear when the government would bring in tougher measures, although Boris Johnson has made clear the current restrictions are under review.
The Prime Minister said this week he will "keep the rules under review" but said "more important than us just pushing out new rules, people have got to follow the guidance".
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said this week that ministers are "reviewing all the restrictions".
READ MORE SUN STORIES
And Professor Chris Whitty has said we are "quite a long way away" from life being back to normal as we know it.
Most read in News
