UK Minister for the Cabinet Office Michael Gove spoke today about new measures to tackle the surge in coronavirus cases in the country.
His comments come ahead of an expected address later today from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announcing new coronavirus restrictions.
On dining out: Speaking to Sky News, Gove said establishments such as bars and restaurants would close at 10 p.m. local time.
“When it comes to eating out, to socializing, then it will be the case that establishments will close at 10 p.m. and we will have a rule that it is table service only,” Gove said.
On schools: It will be of critical importance for schools in England to stay open, he said.
“We need to balance, obviously, the need to ensure that people can continue to work and indeed, critically, continue to go to school to benefit from education, against taking steps to try to reduce the virus, which is why if we can limit, or appropriately restrain social contact, that’s what we’re trying to do,” Gove said.
On working from home: “If it is possible for people to work from home, then we would encourage them to do so,” he said.
On Christmas: “We are not going to cancel Christmas, it will be on December 25,” he said.
Johnson is expected to address the nation with a pre-recorded speech at 3 p.m. ET Tuesday.
He is expected to confirm the new restrictions and sign off on Monday’s recommendation to raise the Covid Alert Level from 3 back to 4 during a Covid strategy meeting on Tuesday.
Level 4 means the virus is “in general circulation, transmission is high or rising exponentially.”