Lockdown restrictions COVID-19 round 2

2nd lockdown starts on November 5th 2020

As the numbers of COVID-19 cases are rising at a very fast pace in the UK, new measures are now going to come into effect in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The new lockdown restrictions are starting on Thursday 5th November and will last until Wednesday 2nd December. The second lockdown put in place by PM Boris Johnson is meant to curb and reverse the course that we are on right now regarding the growing numbers of COVID-19 cases. But this is not all that we need to do. We also have to protect all the first responders, including all NHS workers. So, having said all that, here are three actions that the Government will be taking starting 5th November to prevent the spread of the virus:

1. Requiring people to stay at home unless going out is for specific reasons
2. Preventing gatherings with people from other households unless is for specific reasons
3. Closing non-essential businesses.

What are the rules and what do they mean for you

1. 1. Stay at home

      This means that no one is allowed to be outside of their home unless is for specific reasons, such as:

      • Education– when online is not provided.
      • Work– if work from home is not possible(including working in other people’s homes) if the workplace remains open as an essential business.

      • Exercise– outdoors or public outdoors places with people from the same household or with a person from a different household.
        Note: The following does not count towards the limit of 2 people meeting outside:

        • Children under the school age;
        • People with round – the – clock care;
        • People with severe disabilities and live with their parents.
      • Medical
        • Concerns, reasons, doctor appointments and emergencies
        • To escape injury or bodily harm such as domestic abuse
        • To visit someone that may be dying or giving birth
        • To get a COVID-19 test
        • To seek animal welfare services
        • To visit someone in a care home, hospice or hospital( when permitted and under each’s guidelines).
      • Shopping for the basic necessities e.g. food, medications.
      • Volunteer or provide care for vulnerable people.
      • Events – to attend a funeral, place of worship for individual prayer.

   2. Social Distancing

      A two-meter distance rule from people not from the same household, plus minimising the time spent outside the home. Rule of thumb – HANDS – FACE – SPACE

      • HANDS – wash hands regularly for at least 20 seconds
      • FACE – wear a face mask in indoor spaces where social distancing is not possible and when meeting new people
      • SPACE – social distancing by keeping 2 meters apart from people that are not from the same household or 1 meter with a face mask.

   3. Meeting with family and friends and when and where larger group meetings are allowed:

      • Meeting with family members and friends that are not part of the same household is not allowed.
      • Work for businesses allowed to remain open and when working from home is not feasible is allowed.
      • Voluntary and charitable services are allowed.
      • Work in other people’s homes is allowed such as:
        • Nannies;
        • Cleaners;
        • Tradespeople;
        • To fulfilling legal obligations;
        • Meeting personal trainers but only in public places.
      • Support groups of up to 15 participants, organised to provide aid and support to victims of crime, people recovering from drug and alcohol, new parents and guardians, vulnerable young people.
      • Parent and child groups can continue to provide adequate support to parents and children. Children under the age of 5 will not be counted towards the 15 person limit groups.

   4. Businesses and venues

      To reduce the number of infections and reverse the course the country is currently on, the government will limit social contact by closing non-essential businesses and limit how essential businesses will be providing their goods and services. See the list below:

      • Non-essential retail such as clothing and home goods stores, dealerships, betting shops,electronic and mobile phone shops selling non-essentials goods can continue to operate on a click and collect basis or delivery services.
      • Venues such as cafes, restaurants, social clubs, pubs can continue to be providing food and drinks( alcohol not included) for takeaway, click and collect or delivery services.
      • Hotels, guest houses and campsites will be closed. The exception will be those accommodations that are acting as a primary residence or there is no other place to go home to. Also homeless shelters and places where it is essential to stay for work purposes.
      • Leisure: Gyms, swimming pools, tennis courts, basketball courts, golf courses, dance studios, climbing walls, shooting ranges, archery and driving will be closed.
      • Entertainment. Theatres, concert halls, cinemas, museums and galleries, bowling alleys, skating rinks, go-karting, circuses, funfairs, zoos and all animal attractions, water parks, indoor attractions, botanical gardens, heritage homes and landmarks, will be closed.
      • Personal care. Hair, beauty, tanning and nail salons will be closed as well. No services are to be provided in other people’s homes.
      • Community centres and halls will be closed with the exception of a limited number of activities that are still going to remain open to provide access to IT and digital services that some people may not have at home or that are available for click and collect services.
      • Places or worship will be closed with the exception of independent prayer, service broadcasting and funerals.

      Additional businesses allowed to remain open with a reduced number of activities

      • Education and training including schools allowed sports and leisure facilities as part of their normal activity
      • Children supervised activities for childcare activities
      • Elite sports, professional dancers and choreographers, whether indoor, outdoor, fitness and dance studios
      • For training and rehearsal without an audience in theaters and concert halls
      • For professional film and TV filming

      Essential businesses and venues allowed to remain open during the 2nd lockdown:

      • Food shops, pharmacies, hardware stores, building merchants, supermarkets and off-licenses
      • Taxi and vehicle hire businesses, gas stations,car repairs, MOT services, bicycles
      • Banks, post offices,loan providers, money transfer businesses
      • Funeral directors
      • Laundry and dry cleaners
      • Medical and dental services
      • Vets and pets shops
      • Storage and distribution facilities.
      • Car parks, motorway service areas and public toilets.
      • Outdoors playgrounds.

   5. Public services

      Most of the public services will be open and available to those who need and you will be able to leave the home to visit them.

      • NHS and medical services like GP and dentists. They will be carrying out urgent and non-urgent services. Anyone in need of any kind of assistance is encouraged to come forward and seek help.
      • Jobcentre Plus sites.
      • Courts and probation services.
      • Civil Registrations Offices.
      • Passport and Visa |Services.
      • Services provided to victims.
      • Waste and Recycling centres.

   6. Weddings, funerals and civil partnership

      • Weddings and civil partnerships ceremonies WILL NOT be allowed to take place. There is an exception, where if one the those getting married is terminally ill and not expected to recover, such ceremony will be allowed and the attendance will be limited to 6 people.

   7. Going to work

      To keep the country going during these critical times, employees working in essential industries such infrastructure, construction or manufacturing, can continue to travel for work. To contain the virus and keep a low count of new cases, it is recommended that anyone who can work from home effectively, is encouraged to do so. The risk of new infections with the COVID-19 virus can be drastically reduced if COVID-19 guidelines are followed closely.

   8. Going to school, college and university

      Schools, colleges and universities are to remain open. Children that are home-schooled can still access the education and training in community settings to receive a suitable full-time education. The Government has been very clear about the fact that the next year exams will go ahead as planned, which is why schools will remain open during the 2nd lockdown. As universities reopened their doors to the students, the Government has published guidelines advising universities on reopening to ensure that all the safety measures are in place to limit the spread of the virus to a minimum.

      Additional restrictions are in place at this time:

      • Students living on campus, must not move back and forth between campus and home during term time Students should only return home at the end of the term.
      • Training for extra-curricular purposes is not allowed Facilitated activities to provide a proper childcare function for children of working parents can continue as it stands right now.

1. Childcare and children’s activities

   Parents and carers, have several ways to continued access to childcare services during the lockdown:

   • Early years settings will remain open and the services can be used as normal.
   • Ability to access other childcare services to enable parents to go to work, seek work, attend education.
   • Nannies can continue to provide childcare services in other people’s homes
   • Single adult households are able to benefit from being in a support bubble which allows them to meet with a different household.
   • Parents are able to form a childcare bubble where the child is 13 year old or younger.

2. Protecting people more at risk from coronavirus

   People 60 years or over or with underlying medical conditions have a much higher risk of a severe illness from COVID-19, therefore:

   • The rules have to be followed more strictly, and contact with others to be limited as much as possible.
   • Frequently and carefully wash hands for at least 20 seconds and routinely clean the most touched areas at the workplace or at home.

3. Visiting relatives in care homes

   When intending to be visiting family members in care homes, please follow the existing guidance.

4. Travel

   Within the UK or overseas, travel is not allowed unless is essential travel for work, education or other legally permitted reasons. However, travelling is still permitted for different number of reasons:

   • Travel to and from work, when working from home is not possible
   • Travelling for education or for caring responsibilities
   • To visit someone in a support bubble
   • Seek medical help
   • Buy essential products
   • Exercise outdoor, locally when possible or to just spend time
   • Attend animal welfare.

   When travelling during lockdown,do not use public transportation unless it is really necessary and you should follow the travel guidance. It also includes rules on face masks and advice on cars.

5. Staying away from home overnight

   No overnights away from home whether in the UK or abroad and this includes a second home and caravan.

   You are allowed to have overnights away from home if:

   • Inability to return to the main home
   • Accommodation needed while moving
   • Accommodation needed when attending a funeral
   • Accommodation needed for work purposes including to provide voluntary services.

   Already on a holiday? Arrangements to return home as soon as possible should be made and comply with the lockdown “stay at home” rules in your current vacation accommodation until such arrangements are made and is safe to be returning home. The accommodation providers are encouraged to work with the local authorities and provide shelter to those in need during the lockdown.

6. Financial support

   A much more generous offer from the government consists in asking small, large and charitable or non-profit organisations to only pay November National Insurance and Pensions contributions for their staff since more business will now have to close. Also workers in any part of the UK can now keep their job even though their employer cannot afford to pay them, and be paid up to £2500 a month or at least 80% of their wages. The flexibility of the current CJRS (Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme) will remain to allow workers to continue working where they can.

   You may be able to get financial assistance no matter where you live in the UK through the following:

   • Job Support Scheme (starts 1st November);
   • New Style Employment and Support Allowance;
   • Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

What to do if you experience COVID-19 symptoms?

If you have been contacted by NHS Test and Trace and been told to self-isolate, you must do so. Failure to self-isolate for 14 days will trigger a fine of £1,000 for the first offence and it can increase to up to £10,000 for repeat offences.

NOTE:

• If you need to travel outside England before December 2nd for legally permitted reasons, you should check the rules in the place of your destination even if you’ve visited before. You can check the rules in the country or region of the destination and the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office(FCDO) travel advice.
• UK citizens currently outside the UK do not need to return home immediately, but if you intend to do so, you should check with the airline and make arrangements for returning safely home.

Is Car Keys Solutions impacted by the 2nd round of lockdown?

The answer is NO. We will remain open as usual, and we continue to offer our services at our locations in East Finchley and Kilburn and through our mobile division. We also have an emergency response of one hour for situations where essential workers have misplaced or lost their car keys, in need of car key repairs and more.

TIP of the trade:

With the first wave of the virus and lockdown, we have learned many things about what to do and what not to do to protect ourselves and to help stop the spread. Among the many things recommended by the government was to wash our hands regularly for at least 20 seconds at a time or to sanitise our hands and the areas that are most touched. Car keys are one of the things that we come in contact most frequently with and here are 3 things that should not be done:

• Don’t sanitise your car keys
• Don’t wash your car keys
• Don’t microwave your car keys

HERE IS WHY! Most remotes and fob keys are not fully sealed and therefore they’re not waterproof. They contain an electronic circuit board and when sanitiser or water gets to those electronic components it can damage them – most of the time completely beyond repair. By the same token, car keys should not be microwaved either, as they contain metal components inside and outside of the key all of which will get damaged in the microwave. At the same time, the appliance can get damaged if left on for a longer time. Should the key in question be the only car key and no other working car key is available, the cost of a replacement car key can be much higher.

Car Keys Solutions is taking Coronavirus very seriously and we are doing our part:

• We are slowing the spread of the virus by having our technicians wearing a mask every time they come into contact with any of our customers, and sanitising their hands when washing is not available on the road and in our shops. We also kindly ask our customers that when visiting us, to please wear a mask as well and always ensure that only 2 people at a time are present in any of our workshops. We are convinced that if each one of us is following the rules put in place with the second lockdown, we will be able to make a comeback to normal life.
• We are committed to keep all the essential workers, essential businesses and all those that need to travel for all legally approved reasons, up and running at all times.

Should any car key issues arise like broken car keys that need car key repairs, car key replacements, spare car keys, motorcycle keys, car key cutting or car key programming, please call us on 0203 393 5669.

You can also visit us in:

East Finchley – 142-144 East End Road, London, N2 0RZ
Kilburn – 286-288 Kilburn High Road, London NW6 2DB

Not in London? No problem. We can still have your car key repaired through our online courier repair services. Please visit our website shop.carkeyssolutions.co.uk

Lastly, we would like to thank all NHS workers for all thair hard work and sacrifices they’ve made for those who need help, and are making to keep us all healthy.