Plus, the travel ban families hoping to reunite
| Tiers system comes into force |
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| | | Lockdown in England is over, but the vast majority of the country is waking up to stricter coronavirus rules than before it began. Ninety-nine per cent of the population is in the toughest two levels of the new tier system, meaning people can't mix indoors with other households. Some freedoms have returned though. Non-essential shops and other businesses such as beauty parlours, hairdressers and gyms are able to reopen in all areas. Spectators will be able to return to sporting venues in tiers one and two - see how the experiences will be different. Swimming pools can reopen too, although governing body Swim England says many won't. Find out why. The health secretary has announced that relatives of all care home residents in England will be able to visit over the Christmas period if they test negative for Covid-19. He promised more than a million tests would be sent to homes over the next month. BBC health editor Hugh Pym said the news would be welcomed by families struggling with separation, but there was a danger of hopes being raised only to be dashed again because not all facilities would be able to meet the demand by Christmas. In a Commons vote on Tuesday, 55 Conservative MPs refused to support the new system - the biggest rebellion Boris Johnson has faced and a notable moment, says our political editor. Some are unhappy with the tier they've been placed in, while others have broader objections to what they see as the limiting of peoples' freedom without sufficient justification. The PM said he appreciated the "feeling of injustice" and would "look in granular detail" at the "human geography" when the tiers are reviewed in two weeks. Check what you can do now and why your area is in the tier it is. Finally, find out whether the argument that without these rules the NHS would be overwhelmed stacks up. | |
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| Jobs at risk and prices falling |
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| The High Street is having a really tough time, with the pandemic only accelerating the shift away from bricks-and-mortar towards online. The latest bad news for Arcadia and Debenhams has left 25,000 jobs at risk and it's often young people who are especially hard hit. We spoke to some feeling the strain. Prices are falling - good news for consumers at least - with the biggest discounts at fashion and DIY stores, according to the British Retail Consortium. Overall, it found prices of goods, excluding food, fell 3.7% in November with a further drop likely in December. Diane Wehrle, from analysis firm Springboard, said pre-Christmas discounts were now commonplace, but lockdown had left stores with an excess of seasonal stock, which they need to shift in the coming month. Debenhams launches a huge stock clearance on Wednesday morning and its website has already been overwhelmed. | |
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| | | | | Bruce Tate was in a bad place after the first lockdown. His business in Newcastle, called Need Music, which handled live bookings for pubs and weddings, was forced to close, and he wasn't entitled to financial support from the government. But while contemplating his future, sitting at a picnic table outside his office, he had a "light bulb" moment. A cyclist whizzed past. He suddenly thought: what if he turned this area, which his business was renting anyway, into a cafe, capitalising on the passing trade on wheels? | |
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| | Dougal Shaw | Business reporter, BBC News | |
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| | | | The end of lockdown in England features widely on the front pages. There's jubilation - and some taking of credit - in the Daily Mail at the return of "care home hugs for Christmas". The Daily Express urges shoppers to "buy British" now shops are back open. The Sun is frustrated over the pub rules, though. "That the government's new Covid tier policy hinges on whether or not a Scotch egg counts as a substantial meal is proof that this country is descending into farce," its leader argues. Elsewhere, the Daily Telegraph says the NHS is to start providing vaccines "within days", with the Army put on standby. The Times reckons it might be a bit longer, quoting a government source as saying that, this year, it may be realistic to offer jabs to healthcare workers, care home staff and perhaps the over-80s. Finally, "Throne Alone" is the headline in the Metro, after learning the Queen "is facing a lonely Christmas after abandoning plans for her traditional family gathering at Sandringham". | |
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| | | US election Trump "inciting violence", says vote official |
| | | | Alcohol ban Opposition politicians demand urgent Senedd vote |
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