Rules could be tightened even further - PM

If you are just joining us, or have been overwhelmed by the number of announcements, here are some of today's headlines from around the UK:

• Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called for "resolve" as he introduced new restrictions in a bid to protect the country from a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic
• Among the new measures is a 22:00 closing time for the hospitality industry, with similar announcements in Scotland and Wales, and a 15-person limit on weddings
• Labour has supported the new restrictions but criticised the government, with shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth saying the new measures could have been avoided had ministers "fixed testing and tracing". Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said the prime minister "must take responsibility for what has gone wrong"
• A ban on meeting indoors in Scotland has been extended across the whole country as the nation diverged from Westminster in its policy
• Sports fans could be banned from stadiums until March, after plans for trialing the return of crowds were put on hold

• The Bank of England boss Andrew Bailey has called for a "rethink" of the furlough scheme, which comes to an end at the end of next month
• In Northern Ireland, new rules came into force at 18:00 today with First Minister Arlene Foster describing them as a "wake-up call".

Thank you for following our coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. Here’s a quick reminder of the major stories from around the world:

• The US has recorded more than 200,000 deaths and more than 6.8 million cases of the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking the pandemic.
• US President Trump used his speech to the UN General Assembly to blast China for unleashing “this plague on to the world”.
• An EU leaders’ summit was postponed for a week after European Council President Charles Michel was forced to go into quarantine.
• Cases in Mexico surpassed 700,000, although the deputy health minister warned that the true number could be much higher.

PA MediaCopyright: PA Media

Among today's announcements is the introduction of a 10pm closing time for the hospitality industry, as well as a table service-only rule.

The news has been greeted with concern by businesses in the sector.

Tom Stainer, chief executive of the Campaign for Real Ale, said pub customers and publicans wanted to stop the spread of the virus but said the government hadn't shown the evidence that pubs were disproportionately contributing to increased infections.

"It is additional pressure on already fragile pubs which are at real risk of closure," he said, pointing out there was currently no support on offer from the government.

Mr Stainer added the curfew would cut into several hours of "high trading times" at a time when the industry needed to pay off debts after the lockdown.

Andy Lennox, founder of Zim Braai restaurants, said his business had lost 30% of its revenue "overnight" with the 10pm closing time and it was going to be "very difficult".

"The big thing now is what the support going to be, we need some kind of more flexi-furlough brought in that will allow us to add new employees to that, the VAT needs to stay - that 5% is massive," he said.

Mr Lennox added that Eat Out To Help Out had helped in August - but had only made back losses the industry had already suffered.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

The US Congress approved a whopping $3tn emergency funding to fight the coronavirus pandemic back in March. But could it be that some of the money did not go to where it was intended?

That is the claim in a Washington Post report, which says $1bn earmarked for the US Defence Department to boost a shortage of medical supplies instead went on patching up gaps in military equipment procurement for items such as jet engines, body armour and uniforms.

Some defence contractors, the Washington Post goes on to say, had already tapped into other bail-out measures, such as the job-protection scheme.

Analysts say officials are struggling to account for some of the Congress-approved funds.

There has been no response yet from the Pentagon.

You can read the story in the Washington Post here.

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Northern Ireland's First Minister Arlene Foster has described new restrictions in the nation as a "wake-up call".

She said the "tough" new measures, which include banning different households from mixing indoors, were not a second lockdown, while Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neil called for a big push to curb the rise in cases during a joint televised address.

Mrs Foster said the actions being taken were "designed to prevent the need for a return to lockdown".

"We have risen to the challenge many times before," she said.

Ms O'Neill said: "The choices you make could be the difference between life and death for those closest to you."

The new measures came into effect at 18:00.

The government has published its updated guidance for coronavirus measure in England, following Boris Johnson's televised address.

Here are some the changes:

• Face coverings - customers in private hire vehicles and taxis must wear face coverings from Wednesday, staff in the hospitality industry will also be required to wear face coverings as will their customers except when seated to eat or drink
• Working from home - where it is possible for workers to work from home they should
• Businesses - Hospitality businesses must close between 22:00 and 05:00 and food and drink must be table service only
• Meeting people - Support groups must now be limited to a maximum of 15 people (beginning on Thursday), as will weddings and civil partnership ceremonies from Monday. Indoor organised sport for over 18s will no longer be exempt from the rule of six

Read the updated guidance here.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey says the PM "must take responsibility for what has gone wrong" with "his 'world-beating' test-and-trace system".

He calls it "inexcusable" that this has been "overwhelmed" in recent weeks.

West Ham United manager David Moyes and two of his players have tested positive for coronavirus, the club has said.

Moyes, 57, defender Issa Diop, 23, and 24-year-old midfielder Josh Cullen will now be required to self-isolate.

"The manager and both players immediately left the stadium and have returned home," said a club statement.

The club was told of the results ahead of its Carabao Cup tie against Hull City on Tuesday.

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Pubs, bars and restaurants in Wales must only provide a table service and will have to close at 22:00 from Thursday, the Welsh First Minister has confirmed.

In a televised address Mark Drakeford warned: "In the weeks and months ahead of us, there is a very real possibility we could see coronavirus regain a foothold in our local communities, towns and cities. None of us wants to see that happen again."

He said some parts of south Wales had seen the sharpest rise in cases and were already under strict local measures but said "we now need to make that difference across Wales".

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she recognised the latest restrictions may feel like a "step backwards", but urged Scots to stick with them, insisting they "will make a difference".

She said through collective efforts the virus had been beaten back but warned that over winter "the challenge is once again getting harder".

"But please know that thanks to all your efforts over the last six months, we are in a much stronger position than in the spring," she added. "Cases are rising but less rapidly than back then."

While Labour broadly supports the stricter measures the party’s criticism centres on two points; the party says the Test and Trace system isn’t working and it’s repeatedly called for more financial support for sectors that have been adversely affected by restrictions. That pressure’s growing; including from some on the Tory benches concerned about the impact of a restricted economy on businesses.

For Labour, shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth says the PM should not be "phasing out" the furlough scheme, which is due to finish at the end of next month.

He tells the BBC preserving public health and the economy does not represent an "either/or" choice for the government.

Mr Ashworth accuses ministers of ignoring "all the warnings" on the coronavirus testing system.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson - in a televised message to the country – reiterated the government’s new “tougher package of measures” designed to curb the rise in coronavirus infection.

New restrictions for England are expected to last for the next six months.

These include pubs and restaurants closing from 10pm, the compulsory wearing of face masks and coverings for shop workers, people advised to work from home “wherever possible” and tougher enforcement of rule-breaking.

There’s more detail on the new rules here.

Boris Johnson adopted a similar line to the one he used in Parliament earlier - that of acting now to prevent more onerous restrictions later

Both politically and economically, the government is desperate to avoid another wholesale lockdown and hopes these measures will help.

When he addressed MPs earlier, the PM’s assertion that these new measures might be in place for six months was stark.

Now he’s offering a sprinkling of optimism by saying things will be better by the spring, but that doesn’t mean the country isn’t in for a few tough and uncertain months.

Some have suggested the government should allow people to take more personal risk.

Yesterday, the Chief Medical Officer for England, Chris Whitty, said increasing the risk for individuals increased the risk for everyone.

Now, Boris Johnson is echoing that refrain, saying "these risks are not our own" - with Downing Street pushing a sense of national unity and resolve.

The PM tells the UK population: "Never in our history has our collective destiny and our collective health depended so completely on our individual behaviour."

There will be "great days ahead", he predicts, calling for "discipline", "resolve" and a "spirit of togetherness that will carry us through". That ends Boris Johnson's address.

The prime minister says this approach carries the support of the main parliamentary parties, but it’s not without question.

There’s still tension in the Conservative party about whether today's measures go far enough, or indeed too far, and what role Parliament should have in scrutinising them and signing them off.

And Labour is among the opposition voices calling for more financial support for affected sectors and improvements to the testing system.

Boris Johnson says bringing in extra restrictions now will keep shops and schools open. Meanwhile, the NHS is "better prepared" than it was when the pandemic first hit the UK, with personal protective equipment, extra beds and Nightingale hospitals in place, he adds.

Doctors and medical advisers are "rightly worried" at the moment, the prime minister says, but they are "unanimous that things will be far better by the spring", with the "hope" of a vaccine by then and more efficient mass testing.

That is the "hope" and the "dream", he adds.

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Boris Johnson says he's "deeply, spiritually reluctant" to curb civil liberties, but the virus can't be allowed to get out of control or NHS patients with "non-Covid needs" will suffer.

Another lockdown would threaten jobs and "the loving human contact" on which we all depend", he adds. Education would suffer and loneliness would grow, the PM argues.

It goes without saying the prime minister only addresses the nation when No 10 thinks it’s needed.

It is a sign of the extraordinary and difficult year it's been that this may feel familiar now to some people at home.