Thursday, July 9, 2026

UK to restrict gatherings as coronavirus surges again

The fresh guidelines, which leave out schools and workplaces, will restrict most social gatherings to just six people, an official said.

• September 21, 2020
Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson (Photo Credit: UK government)

Britain’s health secretary Matt Hancock announced new measures to combat a second wave of dreaded coronavirus disease on Monday.

 “We’ve taken this action having seen the rise in the number of cases in the last couple of days knowing the people who are catching the virus are catching it from social circles,” Mr. Hancock said at a press briefing in London.

Part of the new rules, Mr. Hancock said, will restrict social gatherings to just six people at a place. However, schools, workplaces and other limited events like weddings and funerals are exempted.

The UK has been heavily hit since the beginning of the global pandemic. Nearly 400,000 cases have been confirmed, out of which over 40,000 people have died.

The number of confirmed cases in England rose sharply between September 3 and 9, indicating a 167% jump when compared to figures obtained at the end August 2020, per the UK NHS.

New surges in coronavirus cases could force the British government to implement another round of lockdown, raising fears about the country’s economy.

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

cyber fraud

Hot news Home top

Kenyan police nab 18 Chinese nationals in sting operations against cyber fraud syndicates

Police also found 39 Chinese passports and seven Malaysian passports in the ransacked apartments.

Court Gavel

States

58-year-old trader  remanded over alleged defilement of minor 

The Chief Magistrate U.E. Onochie, consequently, ordered that the defendant be remanded at the Awka Correctional facility.

Court room used to illustrate the story

States

Three Ekiti men in court over alleged possession of hemp 

The prosecutor asked the court for adjournment to enable him study the case file and assemble his witnesses.

Heading 2

Mark Carney joking tells Norwegian PM Gahr Støre to loan Canada Man City star Haaland for 2030 World Cup

“Interoperability also means sharing crews.
And in the next World Cup, if you could share Erling Haaland with us, that would be greatly, greatly appreciated,” Mr Carney.

Enugu State

States

Enugu shuts four private hospitals over failure to meet regulatory requirements 

This is contained in a statement on Thursday in Enugu by the Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Health, Chidiogo Ugodu.