Harsh Covid restrictions will remain until April despite stunning vaccine breakthrough

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Tough coronavirus curbs will last at least until Easter despite another stunning vaccine breakthrough yesterday.

Oxford University confirmed its cheap, easy to store and simple to deliver jab had proved ‘highly effective’ in preventing illness.

It could be approved by regulators in as little as a fortnight and start to be administered next month. Britain has ordered 100million doses, with almost 20million due by Christmas.

Boris Johnson praised the breakthrough, saying all vulnerable Britons could be vaccinated by Easter, allowing a gradual return to normality through spring. But he also warned against ‘over-optimism’, saying there were ‘hard months ahead’ until stringent restrictions could be eased.

Setting out plans for a tougher tier system to replace the lockdown that ends on December 2, he said onerous rules would have to remain in place until at least March 31.

Business leaders said the new system was ‘purgatory’ for firms already reeling from two national shutdowns.

London is likely to be in Tier Three, the highest level, following a rise in cases. 

Whitehall sources suggested only very few, mostly rural, areas would be in Tier One – the only level where indoor socialising with other households is allowed.

Details will be announced on Thursday. The continued sweeping restrictions will face significant opposition from many in business, especially hospitality.

Ministers are already braced for Rishi Sunak to unveil shocking figures tomorrow on the impact of the pandemic. A Treasury source said the forecasts in the Chancellor’s comprehensive spending review would be ‘really, really bad’.

On a pivotal day in the virus crisis:

• Mr Johnson appealed to families not to abuse plans for a Christmas relaxation of the rules, saying it would be a ‘season to be jolly careful’, particularly with the elderly;
• He ruled out a compulsory vaccination programme, but urged all those eligible to take advantage;
• Sport was given a reprieve, with plans to allow limited numbers of fans back into stadiums;
• New fast turnaround tests will enable relatives to hug their loved ones in care homes this winter;
• Tory MPs warned of a Commons revolt next week after ministers refused to publish the likely economic impact of Covid restrictions;
• The system of ‘support bubbles’ was opened up to more groups, including parents of babies;
• Mass testing could be used to award ‘freedom passes’ to the Covid-free, allowing them to drop social distancing;
• Travel quarantine will be reduced to five days from December 15 in a major victory for the Daily Mail’s campaign to Get Britain Flying Again;
• The 10pm pub curfew has been dropped, with drinkers to be given an hour to leave after last orders at 10pm;
• Scientific advisers warned that an even tougher ‘Tier Four’ might be needed this winter to keep the virus in check;
• Councils will be given powers to enforce the ‘immediate closure’ of businesses that flout the law;
• Mr Johnson defended the test and trace system, as new figures revealed the cost is on course to hit £22billion.

The post-lockdown system was set out yesterday in a 56-page ‘Covid Winter Plan’ outlining the three tiers.

The new rules will last until at least March 31 – more than a year after the first lockdown began.

Although the ‘stay at home message’ of the last month will be dropped, people will be told to minimise travel and work from home where possible until April.

Business leaders welcomed the decision to allow shops to reopen in the run-up to Christmas. Gyms, hairdressers and beauty salons will also be allowed to trade in all three tiers, and grassroots sport will be allowed to resume.

But there was misery for the hospitality sector, which faces crippling restrictions over the vital Christmas period and beyond. Before the lockdown, around half the country was in Tier One. But the PM said ‘many more places will be in higher tiers’ this time.

Indoor mixing will be banned in Tier Two and above, including in pubs and restaurants. In Tier Two, hospitality venues will be allowed to serve alcohol only with a ‘substantial meal’.

In Tier Three, pubs and restaurants will be permitted to offer takeaway services only. Indoor entertainment, including cinemas, bowling alleys and soft play centres, will have to close.

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, said the new measures would ‘destroy our sector’.

Jonathan Neame, chief executive of the Shepherd Neame pub group, said the measures would be ‘devastating’.

He added: ‘It is absolutely rotten that they have singled out hospitality in this way. It makes me sick.’ Acting CBI chief Josh Hardie said: ‘Positive news of vaccines offers a ray of light for 2021.

‘But the next few weeks and months will for many feel like purgatory – stuck in limbo between a national lockdown and a new normal.’ The Prime Minister said he was very sorry for the economic hardship caused but insisted it was unavoidable given the need to prevent a third wave of coronavirus.

Lauding the Oxford breakthrough, he told a Downing Street press conference: ‘We can hear the drumming hooves of the cavalry coming over the brow of the hill.’ 

Purgatory till Easter: London could be stuck in the toughest tier as the PM unveils a new system to stave off a winter coronavirus surge 

By Jason Groves, Political Editor for The Daily Mail 

England faces at least four more months of Covid restrictions, Boris Johnson said last night, amid fears London could be placed in the new toughest Tier Three.

As he warned of a ‘hard winter’ ahead, the Prime Minister urged the country to steel itself for ‘one final push to the spring’ – when developments in vaccines and testing ‘should reduce the need for the restrictions we have endured in 2020’.

He confirmed that the month-long second lockdown will end on December 2.

But Mr Johnson told MPs it would be replaced in England with a ‘tougher’ system of tiered restrictions than the one in place last month. And it will remain in place until March 31 – just before Easter and more than a year after the first lockdown began.

Whitehall sources last night warned that only ‘very few’ areas of England would be placed in Tier One, the only level where indoor socialising is allowed. Sources refused to rule out placing London in Tier Three following a recent rise in cases.

Downing Street said people in all three tiers would be asked to work from home ‘where possible’ until at least April.

And while the formal advice to stay at home will be dropped next week, even those living in Tier One areas will be asked to ‘minimise travel’. Shops, gyms, hairdressers and beauty salons will be allowed to reopen in all three tiers.

Outdoor sport can also resume next week, and fans will be allowed to return to sports stadiums in limited numbers. But there was misery for the hospitality sector which faces months of crippling restrictions. In Tier Two, pubs and restaurants will only be permitted to serve alcohol to those ordering a ‘substantial meal’.

In Tier Three, pubs and restaurants will be closed for all but takeaways.

Local councils will be given powers to order the ‘immediate closure’ of firms caught flouting the rules. Businesses will also face new fines if they fail to comply immediately with council orders to implement measures to slow the spread of the virus.

In a sign of the long haul ahead, the Government expanded the system of ‘support bubbles’ to include other groups vulnerable to isolation, including families with babies aged under one.

Addressing the Commons via video link from his self-isolation in No 10, Mr Johnson said ministers could not allow the virus to ‘flare up’ again before the ‘scientific cavalry’ arrives in the spring.

He said breakthroughs on vaccines and testing meant that ‘for the first time since this wretched virus took hold, we can see a route out of the pandemic’.

But he added: ‘Without sensible precautions, we would risk the virus escalating into a winter or New Year surge.’ Details of which areas will be placed in which tiers will be set out on Thursday.

In a shot across the Government’s bows, the Tories’ London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey told businesses in the capital that Tier Three would be ‘a disaster’.

Tory MPs also warned that the PM would face a revolt when Parliament is asked to vote on the measures next week.

Despite the tougher measures, the Government’s advisers warned they might not go far enough and a ‘Tier Four’ may be required.

The British Retail Consortium said allowing shops to reopen in the run up to Christmas would ‘help to preserve jobs and the economy’. But Kate Nicholls, of trade body UK Hospitality, said of the restrictions on pubs and restaurants: ‘They are killing Christmas and beyond for many businesses and their customers.’