‘Stay at home’ order for millions in UK

Here is a recap of the main stories from the UK:

• People in all of England and most of Scotland must now stay at home except for a handful of permitted reasons, as new lockdowns begin in both nations. England’s rules – which include the closure of schools – are due to be reviewed on 15 February; Scotland’s will be reviewed at the end of January
• Schools have also closed to most pupils in Scotland and Wales, while Northern Ireland will have an “extended period of remote learning”
• Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove has confirmed that GCSE and A-level exams will be cancelled following the announcement of the lockdown. He said the decision to close schools had been made with the “heaviest of hearts”
• Businesses in retail, hospitality and leisure will receive new grants to help them keep afloat until spring, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced. The grants will be worth up to £9,000 per property, the Treasury says
• Supermarkets’ online shopping operations have come under strain as customers rushed to book deliveries ahead of the new lockdown beginning. Within a couple of hours of Johnson’s speech to the nation on Monday, shoppers reported problems with Sainsbury’s and Tesco
• A thousand health professionals have backed an appeal for hospital staff to be given improved personal protective equipment. The group want general ward staff to be given the type of high-quality masks usually only worn in intensive care.

Source: BBC