COVID-19 Update January 2021



Travel Update

  • The Government has just announced that from 1pm Friday 29 January passengers who have been in or transited through the United Arab Emirates, Burundi and Rwanda in the last 10 days will no longer be granted access to the UK.
  • British, Irish and third country nationals with residence rights in the UK will be allowed to enter but are required to self-isolate for 10 days at home, along with their household.
  • From 4am on Friday morning all arrivals who have, in the 10 days before their arrival in the UK, been in these destinations and their households will have to self-isolate immediately, and will not be eligible to use Test to Release.
  • There will also be a flight ban on direct passenger flights from the United Arab Emirates.
  • The decision to ban travel from these destinations follows the discovery of a new coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa, that may have spread to other countries.

Government Update

  • Lockdown Guidance Update – The Going to Work Section of the Lockdown guidance has been updated to clarify that you do not need to be classed as a critical worker to go to work if you cannot work from home. The updated section also states that employers and employees should discuss their working arrangements, and employers should take every possible step to facilitate their employees working from home, including providing suitable IT and equipment to enable remote working. Where people cannot work from home, employers should take steps to make their workplaces COVID-19 secure and help employees avoid busy times and routes on public transport. Extra consideration should be given to those people at higher risk.
  • Managing playgrounds and outdoor gyms – COVID-19: Guidance for managing playgrounds and outdoor gyms has been updated to reflect the latest guidance on use of outdoor public playgrounds that remain open.
  • Night Time Economy Consultation – The Night Time Economy APPG has launched an urgent inquiry into the impact of Covid-19 on British nightlife. The inquiry is being led by APPG Chair, Jeff Smith MP, who worked in the sector for several years in his earlier career. The APPG is calling for evidence from night time economy businesses, employees, freelancers and consumers to share their views on the challenges facing the sector, its importance to our society and economy, and how nightlife can be reopened.

Data and Insight

  • Eat Out to Help Out Analysis – HMRC has published an analysis of the EOTHO scheme which includes a geographical breakdown of the uptake. Interestingly the participation and uptake of the scheme was very evenly spread around the UK. Unsurprising areas with high commuter traffic and low resident populations had low claim levels (i.e. City of London and Kings Cross). Also of note, the average claim per outlet was significantly higher in Northern Ireland than either England, Scotland or Wales.

Situation update 28 January 2021