Leisure facilities to close with Brits only allowed to exercise outdoors in four-week national lockdown
ALL leisure facilities will be shut during the second lockdown, and Brits will only be allowed to exercise outdoors.
Under the new lockdown restrictions announced by Boris Johnson at the press conference this evening, people in England will have to brave the cold to stay fit for the next four weeks.
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The Prime Minister told the public that from Thursday non-essential shops, leisure venues and entertainment facilities will all be closed.
But people are allowed to leave their homes for education, essential shopping, and for outdoor exercise.
Unlike the first lockdown in March, there is no time limit on the outdoor exercise Brits are allowed to do.
Walks and runs were only allowed to be one hour long during the first shutdown – and no recreational activities could take place outside.
However, this restriction will be less harsh in the November lockdown.
Boris Johnson said: "From Thursday until the start of December, you must stay at home.
"You may only leave home for specific reasons, including for exercise and recreation outdoors, with your household or on your own with one person from another household."
However, people have been vocal about the lack of daylight hours going into the second lockdown – and how this will restrict how much outdoor exercise the public can do.
LEISURE VENUES SHUT
With evenings getting dark by 4pm, many have questioned when Brits will be able to squeeze in time for health and wellbeing during busy work days.
One person wrote on Twitter: "Right so you expect me to exercise when it’s freezing and goes dark at half 4?
"Outside exercised worked when it was light outside till 9pm but doesn’t work now."
Another commented on the new lockdown rules: "Exercising outside was a lot easier when it was earlier in the year and lighter in the evenings.
"People who work full-time will have to exercise in the dark?
"The impact to mental health is going to be so much worse."
A third wrote: "Lockdown is going to be 100x harder this time.
"It’s too dark, wet and cold to be going on evening/morning walks and doing exercise outside as we did previously.
"If gyms have to shut this is going to catastrophic for our physical and mental well-being."
OUTDOOR EXERCISE ALLOWED
Whereas the March lockdown saw days getting longer as we moved into spring and summer, this second national lockdown will see the days getting shorter.
The closure of leisure venues will be in place until December.
Tonight, Boris Johnson announced the second national lockdown, just four months after the end of the first UK-wide shutdown.
Professor Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance showed the nation a set of grim slides tonight – warning that the death numbers could pass the first peak as early as the start of December.
And they said the number of deaths in the second wave could be DOUBLE that of the first.
But schools and universities are set to stay open during the four week lockdown, in order to prioritise children's education.
This comes as Britain today passed one million Covid-19 cases after 21,915 more people positive for the bug.
The total number of infections in the UK hit 1,011,660 today.
Yesterday, infections grew by 24,405 in Britain, as another 274 people died.
Today's rise in cases is slightly smaller than it was last Saturday, when the tally rose by 23,012.
The Saturday before that, however, the figure was 16,167.
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