september – secretary of state for justice robert buckland says that resolving delays with testing is "the number one issue", with plans to publish a strategy within days that will prioritise nhs facilities and care homes, as well as schools. prime minister boris johnson says the system is dealing with a "colossal spike" in demand, and that an "action plan" for care homes will be released shortly. a number of local authorities have said that the introduction of "covid marshals", announced by prime minister boris johnson as a way to enforce social distancing, rules on gatherings and the wearing of face coverings, is "unlikely" and "almost impossible". bolton nhs trust urges people who are not seriously ill to avoid visiting accident and emergency departments after 100 people turned up at a local hospital asking for covid-19 tests. 17 september – following a rise in covid-19 cases in the north east, local lockdown measures are announced for newcastle-upon-tyne, gateshead, sunderland, northumberland, south tyneside, north tyneside and county durham, beginning from midnight. households are banned from mixing, while pubs, bars and restaurants are only permitted to offer table service; they must close between 22:00 and 05:00. thailand and singapore are added to the quarantine exemption list, meaning travellers arriving from there will no longer need to self-isolate. slovenia and guadeloupe are removed. 18 september – the uk government says it is considering a short period of tighter restrictions for england to slow the spread of covid-19; this would see hospitality businesses closing for a few weeks. collection of customer / visitor contact details becomes a legal requirement with fixed penalties, applying to operators of many types of business and community centres. tighter restrictions are announced for lancashire (excluding blackpool), merseyside, warrington, halton, wolverhampton, oadby, wigston, parts of bradford, kirklees and calderdale, beginning on 22 september. households are banned from mixing, hospitality businesses can offer table service only and must close between 22:00 and 05:00. residents are advised only to use public transport when essential. mayor of london sadiq khan says measures to curb the spread of the virus in london are becoming "increasingly likely". the office for national statistics says that new covid-19 cases may have reached 6,000 a day in england, with a clear rise in cases in those under the age of 35. the new year's eve fireworks display in london is cancelled because of the covid-19 pandemic. 19 september – up to 1,000 fans are allowed to attend eight english football league matches as part of the government's crowd pilot scheme aimed at reopening spectator sport. 20 september – health secretary matt hancock warns people in england that tougher covid-19 restrictions will follow if they do not follow the rules. as lancashire prepares for tighter restrictions from 22 september, tourists have descended on blackpool for a "last blast" at the coastal resort, despite police urging them not to do so. labour party leader sir keir starmer calls on prime minister boris johnson to apologise for the "near collapse" of the government's test and trace system. 21 september – health secretary matt hancock announces that people in areas subject to tighter covid-19 restrictions are to be allowed to look after children from other households. the uk government announces that pubs and restaurants in england must close at 22:00 from thursday 24 september and be restricted to table service only by law, with the measures to be outlined by prime minister boris johnson the following day. 22 september – prime minister boris johnson tells the house of commons the united kingdom has reached "a perilous turning point" as he announces new restrictions for england that could last for as long as six months. these include a requirement that all shop staff wear face coverings, and a limit on weddings to fifteen people. initial fines for rule breaking are increased from £100 to £200. people are also told to work from home if they can. johnson confirms that plans for spectator sporting events to resume from 1 october will not go ahead. a report into the covid response implemented by erlestoke prison finds that it made the prison "less safe" and "less purposeful". geographical spread of covid-19 in england by 23 september 2020 23 september – foreign secretary dominic raab defends new covid-19 measures following criticism from some scientists who feel they do not to far enough, describing them as "balanced, targeted and proportionate". an english premier league match between liverpool and arsenal is brought forward by fifteen minutes to accommodate for the 10pm pubs curfew, with all future premiership matches being timed to fit in with the new regulations. couples who live separately are now permitted to meet up for sex, but casual sex is still banned. 24 september – the second version of the nhs contact-tracing app is made available for download by the public in england and wales. 25 september – different households in leeds, west yorkshire are prevented from mixing together in houses and gardens to curb the spread of covid-19 in the city, the new rules becoming effective from midnight. london is placed on the national coronavirus watchlist following a rise in cases there. 1,700 students at manchester metropolitan university are told to self-isolate for 14 days after 99 tested positive for covid-19. the department of health and social care announces that emails and sms messages will be sent to people in england informing them how to download the nhs covid-19 contact-tracing app. 26 september – steve chalke, founder of the oasis trust which operates 53 schools in england, calls on the pupil premium that helps to educate the poorest children should be trebled because the gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged children "has become a gulf" following lockdown. demand for covid tests for children in england has tripled through september, with 1% testing positive. 27 september – in the birmingham area, 100 military personnel are enlisted to support the "drop and collect" covid-19 testing programme. 28 september – the remainder of the regulations (si 1029) come into force in england, reducing the maximum number who can attend weddings and civil partnership ceremonies and any associated receptions from 30 to 15. refusing to self-isolate in england after being told to self-isolate becomes illegal, with a fine of up to £10,000. the change in the law comes after a government-commissioned survey found that only 18% of people with symptoms went into self-isolation. fines for employers who penalise employees for self-isolating will also be introduced. the test and trace support payment scheme begins. £500 is available to employed people who are asked to isolate by nhs test and trace, if they cannot work at home and are receiving certain state benefits or have a low income. andy burnham, the mayor of greater manchester, calls for an "urgent review" of the 10pm pub curfew because it is "doing more harm than good" and "creates an incentive for people to gather in the street or more probably to gather in the home". lockdown measures are further tightened in the north east of england from 30 september to make mixing with other households in any indoor setting illegal and enforceable by fines; the decision comes after covid-19 cases in the area rise to 100 in 100,000. 29 september – the nhs confederation warns that the health service faces a "triple whammy" of rising covid-19 cases, a major backlog in treatment and reduced capacity because of covid measures over the coming winter. the shopworkers' union usdaw warns that 10pm pub closures are putting retail workers at greater risk from verbal abuse, violence and covid infection, because stores that remain open late are attracting people who wish to buy alcohol, something that poses a potential increase in antisocial behaviour. prime minister boris johnson announces a "radical" shake up of adult education in england, with adults who do not possess a level qualifications offered a levels or equivalent qualifications in subjects valuable to industry. johnson apologises, saying he "misspoke" after being asked to clarify incoming covid-19 restrictions for meeting up in the north east of england after a junior minister was unable to do so. johnson wrongly stated that the rule of six applied in the area, when the restrictions mean households are not permitted to mix in indoor or outdoor settings. 30 september – 170 people have tested positive for covid at a pork processing plant in cornwall. october 2020 1 october – tighter restrictions are announced for liverpool, warrington, hartlepool and middlesbrough, making it illegal for households to mix in any indoor setting, including pubs and restaurants. the changes come into place following a continued spike of covid-19 cases in those areas, and will remain effective for as long as necessary. doctors in the west midlands have been told to prepare for a mass covid vaccination programme from as early as november. bbc news reports that covid-19 restrictions are to be simplified into a three-tier system following confusion over local rules. 770 students at the university of northumbria have tested positive for covid-19, requiring them to self-isolate; 79 of them are symptomatic. 3 october – tighter restrictions come into force in liverpool, hartlepool, middlesbrough and warrington. 4 october – andy burnham, the mayor of greater manchester, warns the north of england faces a "winter of dangerous discontent" if the test and trace system does not improve, and calls for local control over test and trace, a local furlough scheme and better support for local authorities if local lockdown measures are to continue. fallowfield, a suburb of manchester and home to thousands of students, is now the coronavirus hotspot with the most cases of anywhere in the country. a possible reason for the soaring covid-19 infection rate is the concentration of student accommodation in the areas around the university of manchester, manchester metropolitan university and salford university campuses. 5 october – according to the telegraph, a number of university cities experiencing significant covid-19 infection rate increases, such as leeds, exeter, oxford, sheffield and manchester, are poised to be put under more stringent restrictions, even local lockdown measures. 6 october – the number of daily covid-19 hospital admissions in england increases by 478, the largest daily increase since june. health officials in nottingham express concerns about a spike in covid cases in the city, where cases have risen to an average of 384 in every 100,000 over the past seven days. in the house of commons, the uk government wins a vote on retaining the "rule of six" limit on social gatherings by 287 votes to 17. london now has an infection rate of more than 1,000 new covid-19 cases a day, with 16 boroughs reporting more than 60 new cases per 100,000 people. the increase is thought to be partly due to an upsurge in testing. 7 october – labour party leader keir starmer challenges prime minister boris johnson to publish the scientific evidence behind the 10pm closing time ahead of a vote on the issue in the house of commons. people in nottinghamshire are asked to avoid mixing with other households indoors amid high rates of covid-19. 8 october – after details of possible new restrictions to close pubs and restaurants in the areas of england most affected by covid-19 appear in newspapers ahead of any announcement by the government, mps and local leaders seek clarification on the situation. figures released by nhs england indicate 111,000 people have been waiting for routine hospital treatment for more than a year, the highest figure since 2008. almost two million patients have been waiting for more than the target time of 18 weeks. £30m of funding is announced for local authorities to fund covid measures, including marshals to ensure rules are followed. police forces in england and wales are also given £30m to help with enforcing regulations. data published by public health england shows nottingham to have the highest covid-19 rate in the uk, with 689.1 cases per 100,000. the evening standard reports that london has had 6,723 new covid-19 infections within the week ending 4 october 2020, an increase of 58.2% on the previous week. 9 october – the imperial college's react study shows the rate at which the coronavirus epidemic is spreading in the north of england is double the pace of the rest of england with faster infection doubling times of 17