UK Lockdown Update - 26th November 2020
26th November 2020
The UK Prime Minister has confirmed that once the current lockdown period ends on 2nd December, regions of the UK will be placed into 'tiers' with varying restrictions. Bristol will be in Tier 3 (Very High), with the following restrictions in place:
- You can't mix with anybody you do not live with, or who is not in your support bubble, indoors, or in private gardens and pub gardens
- You can meet in a group of up to six in other outdoor spaces, such as parks, beaches or countryside
- Hospitality venues - such as bars, pubs, cafes and restaurants must remain closed, except for delivery and takeaway services
- Spectator sports cannot resume
- Indoor entertainment venues - such as bowling alleys and cinemas - must remain close
- People are advised not to travel to and from tier three areas
Shops, gyms and personal care business such as hairdressers/barbers can reopen, and schools and education will continue to stay open. International House Bristol therefore remains open and teaching face-to-face classes as before. You can find our full COVID-19 Safety Measures & FAQs here
The 'Tiers' are set to be reviewed every 14 days, starting 16 December.
Additionally, from 15th December arrivals from countries not on the 'Travel Corridor' list who are required to self-isolate for 14 days will now be able to take a COVID test (at their own cost) 5 days after arrival. If negative, the self-isolation period can be ended early. Read the full government update here
2nd November 2020
The UK government has announced a second national lockdown for England which will come into effect from Thursday 5th November for 4 weeks until 2nd December. After this date, the plan (at the time of writing) is to then ease restrictions and return to the ‘tiered’ system of local and regional measures. Currently, Bristol is in Tier 1, with the least amount of restrictions in place.
The important difference between this lockdown and the UK’s first lockdown in March is that schools and universities are allowed to stay open, while all hospitality and leisure businesses and non-essential shops must close.
We are therefore pleased to confirm that International House Bristol will remain open and teaching face-to-face classes during the lockdown period. New students are welcome to join us for online and face-to-face courses – see our full range here; our COVID-19 Safety Measures here, or if you have any questions please contact us directly so we can help you. Should any student be required to self-isolate, they will be able to join classes remotely via zoom, just as our recent new arrivals have successfully been doing over the past weeks.
Back in March, we introduced an online social programme and since then have continued to offer 2 online social activities per week together with IH Galway, Manchester & Portsmouth - these will continue as planned, and everyone is welcome! You can see the full calendar here and click on each event to find the sign-up link.
Finally, you can find the full press release from the UK government and more details of the specific rules here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-announces-new-national-restrictions
This is a strange and difficult time for everyone but one thing is certain: IH Bristol is here to support you and your studies.