restrictions are removed from wigan, rossendale and darwen, while birmingham is added to the government's watchlist as an "area of enhanced support". northampton becomes an "area of intervention". birmingham city council introduces a number of voluntary measures aimed at preventing a full local lockdown in the city, including a halt on further sectors reopening, advice to wear face coverings in taxi cabs, limitations on gatherings of over 30 people except for acts of worship, and restricting the number of people who can meet up with another household to two. the ban on evictions due to expire on 23 august is extended until 20 september amid concerns that thousands of people could be made homeless. the government appoints senior civil servant susan acland-hood to the department for education as a second permanent secretary for six weeks to help deal with the response to the a levels controversy. 22 august – council leaders in the north west urge the government to provide clarity on new restrictions amid concerns it is unclear how they will be implemented and policed. a further £1.1m of government funding (as part of the culture recovery fund) is announced to help small music venues. 23 august – police in birmingham report that a total of 70 unlicensed social gatherings, including house and street parties, were disrupted overnight. 24 august – greater manchester police reveal they have broken up 126 illegal gatherings over the preceding weekend, including a child's tenth birthday party. responding to criticism of the police for their actions over the party, chief constable ian hopkins says it was not a "jelly and ice cream" event and saw "mostly adults celebrating". 25 august – sally collier resigns as head of ofqual following the exam grades controversy. after face coverings are made compulsory for students in communal areas of schools in scotland, pressure grows on the uk government to update the guidelines for wearing face coverings at schools in england. the government subsequently issues new guidelines requiring pupils at schools in areas subject to lockdown restrictions to wear face coverings in corridors and other communal areas. 26 august – birmingham city council is given the authority to close pubs and restaurants that fail to comply with covid-19 regulations. 27 august – birmingham city council announces plans to launch an enhanced test and trace system by mid-september in a bid to avoid full lockdown. 28 august – health secretary matt hancock announces that restrictions will be eased from 2 september in bolton, stockport, trafford, burnley, hyndburn and parts of bradford, calderdale and kirklees, allowing households to mix again; restrictions in leicester will be reviewed again on 11 september. the office for national statistics weekly household survey indicated cases of covid-19 are levelling off in england following a slight increase in july; it estimated there were 2,200 cases per day in the week up to 20 august. 29 august – government guidelines on covid-19 in schools suggest that an entire bubble would be sent home to isolate for fourteen days in the event of a single case being confirmed at a school, presenting the possibility that an entire school year could be sent home in such an instance. schools in areas where covid cases are high may also teach pupils on a rota basis, with groups being sent home alternately for two weeks. the first football match with spectators takes place in brighton, with 2,500 people allowed in to watch a pre-season friendly between chelsea and brighton. women's football makes a return for the first time since lockdown, with a community shield match between chelsea and manchester city, the first women's community shield to be held since 2008. 30 august – in an open letter to parents, education secretary gavin williamson warns those who do not send their children back to school risk putting a "huge dent in their future life chances". the activist piers corbyn has been fined £10,000 for organising an anti-lockdown rally in trafalgar square, london. 31 august – the opposition labour party urges the uk government to delay 2021's gcse and a level exams until mid-summer to help deal with teaching time lost because of lockdown. september 2020 1 september – education minister nick gibb confirms the government will make a decision "very soon" about whether to delay school exams in 2021. research conducted by the national foundation for educational research suggests that schoolchildren are three months behind in their studies following lockdown, with boys and poorer pupils the most affected. a trial begins in blackburn with darwen, pendle, and oldham of payments to those on low incomes who are asked to self-isolate by nhs test and trace. up to £182 will be paid to people receiving universal credit or working tax credit, who are either employed and unable to work from home, or self-employed and unable to work without social contact. 2 september – plans to ease lockdown restrictions in bolton and trafford are scrapped following a rise in covid-19 cases in the areas, while mayor of greater manchester andy burnham urges the rest of greater manchester to "continue to minimise mixing in the home". england's exam regulator, ofqual, says it warned the government there could be widespread dissatisfaction with its emergency grading system, and that an alternative solution such as delaying exams would have been better. 4 september – councillors in leeds, west yorkshire, urge residents to make a "collective effort" to avoid local lockdown measures after the seven day average of covid-19 cases in the city rise to 29.4 cases per 100,000. leeds is also added to public health england's watchlist as an area of concern. corby, kettering, south tyneside and middlesbrough are also added to the list as areas of concern, while northampton is downgraded from an area of intervention to an area of enhanced concern. rossendale and norfolk are also listed as areas of enhanced concern. the office for national statistics household survey suggests covid-19 cases remained unchanged in england for the week up to 25 august, despite local spikes in cases. 5 september – people in bolton are asked to limit their use of public transport to essential journeys and avoid indoor or outdoor mixing with people outside their support bubbles after covid-19 cases soar to 99 in 100,000 in a week, the highest rate in england. lawyers express their concern about the delay in court cases in england and wales, with some 9,000 having been delayed since the start of lockdown, and warn that measures put in place to speed up cases may not be effective. 7 september – the uk government announces that travellers arriving from the greek islands of lesvos, tinos, serifos, mykonos, santorini, crete and zakynthos will be required to quarantine from 4am on 9 september. manchester city footballers riyad mahrez and aymeric laporte test positive for covid-19 and are required to self-isolate. england footballers phil foden and mason greenwood are sent home from training in iceland following a breach of covid-19 rules. 8 september – following a rise in covid-19 cases, social gatherings of more than six people are made illegal from 14 september, with the exception of workplaces, schools, covid secure weddings and funerals, and organised team sports. businesses including soft play centres, bowling alleys and casinos are permitted to reopen in greater manchester, lancashire and west yorkshire. lockdown measures are further tightened in bolton after covid-19 cases increase to 120 in every 100,000. the measures include limiting food outlets to takeaway meals only, and a curfew requiring businesses to close between 22:00 and 05:00. health secretary matt hancock blames socialising by people in their 20s and 30s for the increase. covid-19 cases in birmingham have increased to 62.2 per 100,000, with local officials working to avoid lockdown measures being implemented. sarah-jane marsh, a director of england's test and trace programme, issues an apology for problems with the system, explaining it is laboratories rather than the testing sites that are the "critical pinch-point". 9 september – the new rules regarding social gatherings are further elaborated upon by prime minister boris johnson in a government press conference, alongside details of new legal requirements for data gathering on behalf of venues, social distancing "martials" to enforce restrictions, and a "moonshot" plan to further control the virus with greatly expanded mass virus testing. the st leger meeting opens at doncaster racecourse with spectators, but health officials order the racecourse to hold the meeting behind closed doors from 10 september on public health grounds. health secretary matt hancock suggests people should avoid the "inappropriate" use of covid tests if they do not have symptoms, saying it makes getting a test more difficult for those who do have symptoms. the organisers of birmingham's german market have cancelled the 2020 event because of the covid-19 pandemic. solihull metropolitan borough council suspends care home visits in solihull as covid-19 cases in the town reach 50 per 100,000; officials will also make extra visits to bars, restaurants and pubs to ensure they are complying with covid restrictions. 10 september – scientists and health experts express their doubt about boris johnson's "operation moonshot" plans to test several million people daily for covid-19 with a quick turnaround, saying that the laboratory capacity is not there, while the british medical journal quotes a leaked document that claims the process would cost £100bn. health secretary matt hancock says the rules limiting social gatherings to no more than six people will not be kept in place "any longer than we have to". guidance for universities in england says that they should only switch to full online learning as a last resort if there is a covid-19 outbreak in the local area. travellers returning to england from the portuguese mainland, hungary, french polynesia and réunion from 12 september must self-isolate for two weeks; those returning from sweden no longer need to self-isolate. hospital waiting lists in england have increased because of the pandemic, figures show, with the volume of patients waiting for treatment at their highest since records began in 2007. two million patients have waited 18 weeks or longer for treatment, while 83,000 have waited for more than a year. two boat shows scheduled for southampton the following day – boats2020, and the smaller sailing show mdl ocean village – are cancelled at short notice by public health officials because of fears over the covid-19 pandemic. 11 september – households in birmingham and neighbouring solihull and sandwell are banned from mixing from 15 september as covid-19 cases in birmingham reach 90.3 per 100,000, but six people from more than one household can still visit pubs, restaurants and bars, and shops remain open. 12 september – cabinet office minister michael gove confirms that children in england will be included in new "rule of six" socialising restrictions; scotland and wales have not included children under the age of 12 in the new rules. anti-lockdown protesters gather in birmingham city centre to demonstrate against the introduction of tighter restrictions in the area. the 2020–21 english football season begins. 13 september – the uk government writes to care home providers in england to warn them of a rise in covid-19 cases in the sector; cases have risen among staff, but there are fears they could spread to residents. 14 september – the health protection (coronavirus, restrictions) (no. 2) (england) (amendment) (no. 4) regulations 2020 came into force at 12.01 a.m. unless one of the exceptions applies, the statutory instrument provides authority to limit the number of persons in a gathering to no more than six; hence the rule of six. nhs england writes to gps surgeries to advise them to make patients aware that face-to-face appointments with a doctor can be made if required; at least half of the 102 million appointments made between march and july are estimated to have been online or via telephone. headteachers warn that schools are being impacted by delays in covid tests for teachers. 15 september – health secretary matt hancock tells the house of commons that england's covid-19 testing system has faced an "enormous challenge" after a "sharp rise" in the demand for tests, but that the issue will be resolved in a "matter of weeks". the first official figures for school attendance published since the beginning of the autumn term show that 88% of pupils have returned to the classroom. 16