The new coronavirus measures being brought in from Monday, September 28

From Monday, September 28, a host of new measures will be added to the guidance on what people can and cannot to.

These apply to England only, with people in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland told to follow the advice and legislation laid down by their own Governments.

The UK Government has also warned that people living in areas experiencing local outbreaks of the virus and where local restrictions have been imposed, have been warned they will still need to follow those rules too.

Here are the latest rules:

Only 15 people can attend a wedding

Wedding and civil partnership ceremonies and receptions must only take place in Covid-19 secure venues or in public outdoor spaces.

From Monday, September 28, weddings, civil partnership ceremonies and wedding receptions are restricted to 15 people and receptions must be sit down meals – the previous number of people allowed to join in the celebrations was 30.

Anyone working at the venue is not counted as part of the limit.

The Government adds within these larger gatherings, people do not need to limit their interaction to groups of six, but social distancing should still be followed between people not in the same household or support bubble.

30 people can attend a funeral – but not a wake

Funeral services can include up to 30 people.

From Monday, September 28, this will not include wakes, which are subject to the rule of 6, other than for religious ceremonial purposes.

Christenings

As of Monday, September 28, the rule of six will apply to standalone religious and belief-based ceremonies.

This means that these events must be limited to six attendees.

Events like christenings and bar mitzvahs or bat mitzvahs can take place as part of a larger gathering within communal worship provided that groups of more than six do not mingle.

Extra measures to be brought in to leisure venues

Leisure and entertainment venues must be ‘covid secure’ which means they must ensure;

- Customers are observing the rule of six

- Appropriate social distancing signage and layout is in place

- Customer entry in managed

- Businesses have also been told they must remind customers to wear face coverings where mandated.

These are in addition to other rules which came in on Thursday, September 24, which included:

- Table service in licensed food and drink venues, except takeaways, to prevent queues to order.

- People must be seated when consuming food and drink on the premises.

- Hours have been restricted from 10pm to 5am for businesses selling food and drinks, social clubs, casinos, bowling alleys, amusement arcades and other indoor leisure centres of facilities, funfairs, theme parks, adventure parks, and bingo halls.

- Takeaway can continue to operate after 10pm only for delivery service or drive-thru.

- Cinemas, theatres and concert halls can stay open after 10pm, only if the performance started before 10pm and they should not serve food or drink after this time.

Businesses could face fines of up to £10,000

From Monday September 28 businesses could face fines of up to £10,000 for breach of the rules.

Hospitality businesses are required to ensure there are no unlawful gatherings in their premises.

Any individual holding a gathering of more than 30, such as a rave or house party, could also face a £10,000 fine.

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