effective against covid-19. 12 october prime minister boris johnson unveils the new three-tier system of restrictions for england, taking effect from 14 october. areas are grouped into one of three risk categories – medium, high, or very high. medium areas are subject to the rule of six and the 10pm curfew, high areas have restrictions on indoor meetings but groups of six can continue to meet in outdoor settings, and very high areas will see the closure of businesses such as pubs and casinos, but not restaurants. the liverpool city region is the only area to be placed in the very high category. newly released papers show that the scientific advisory group for emergencies (sage) recommended a short "circuit breaker" lockdown for england in september as a way of controlling the virus. the uk hospitality sector says it will launch legal action against local lockdown rules that could force pubs, bars and restaurants to close. a bbc panorama documentary reports on the growing calls for an inquest into the death of rail transport worker belly mujinga, who died after reportedly being coughed and spat on by a passenger who claimed to have covid-19. 13 october following the news that sage recommended a short period of lockdown as a "circuit breaker", labour party leader sir keir starmer urges the government to impose a two or three week period of lockdown in england so that the country does not "sleepwalk into... a bleak winter". figures reveal that uk unemployment has risen to its highest level since 2017, with an increase of 4.5% in the three months up to august 2020. 14 october the first covid-19 tier regulations come into force, defining three levels of restrictions to be applied as necessary in geographic areas. these replace and revoke the existing local lockdown regulations. the liverpool city region is the first to be assigned to the strictest tier. the british medical journal reports the rare case of a patient who suffered permanent hearing loss following an episode of covid-19. nhs hospital trusts in plymouth, liverpool and belfast are cancelling planned elective procedures outright or scaling-back surgery due to an upsurge in covid-19 patients requiring intensive care. mark drakeford, the first minister of wales, announces plans to ban visitors to wales from other parts of the uk with high covid-19 rates. 15 october a study by university college london reveals that up to 17 per cent of the population of the uk could refuse to be immunised by a covid-19 vaccine. italy, vatican city and san marino are removed from the quarantine exemption list following a rise in covid-19 cases in italy. the house of commons announces plans to stop selling alcohol in its bars and restaurants amid tighter covid restrictions for london. the metropolitan police says it will take no further action against mp margaret ferrier for her breach of covid-19 rules. 16 october the office for national statistics estimates there are 27,900 new covid-19 cases a day in england, a 60% increase on the previous week, while the r number rises to between 1.3 and 1.5. wales introduces a travel ban on people from covid hotspots in other parts of the uk, beginning from 6pm. 17 october kate bingham, chair of the uk's vaccine taskforce, reveals that a covid-19 vaccine will only protect some people from infection and in the first instance will be limited in supply. the jcvi advises that those in need will be prioritised. 18 october the british chambers of commerce urges the government to provide better financial support to firms in order to avoid the "catastrophic consequences" of covid restrictions. jeremy farrar, one of the scientists who sits on the sage committee, warns that christmas 2020 will be "tough" and is unlikely to be the "usual celebration" of "families coming together". 19 october yasmin qureshi, the mp for bolton south east, is admitted to hospital with pneumonia after testing positive for covid-19. 18,804 new cases who have tested positive for covid-19 are reported for the uk as a whole with 80 further fatalities. figures published by the office for national statistics indicate almost 1,000 additional non-covid deaths at home were recorded every week between march and september 2020, while there were 27 million fewer gp appointments between march and august. cancer research uk estimates 350,000 referrals have been missed since march, with thousands of ill patients not receiving treatment. 20 october passengers flying from heathrow airport to italy and hong kong now have the option of buying a rapid turnaround covid-19 test for £80. unlike the pcr tests used by the nhs, the lamp tests used by the heathrow facility do not need to be processed at a laboratory. the uk announces plans to proceed with "human challenge" trials for a covid vaccine involving around 90 people, who will be deliberately exposed to the virus in order to determine the level of exposure needed to become infected. 241 covid-19 related deaths are recorded, the highest daily number for several months. 21 october trials of a covid-19 vaccine being developed by astrazeneca and oxford university are to continue following a review into the death of a volunteer in brazil. details of the death have not been disclosed, but oxford university says a "careful assessment" of the circumstances has revealed no safety concerns. a further 26,688 covid-19 cases are recorded, the highest daily figure so far. gaby appleton, the former managing director of researcher products at publisher elsevier, has been appointed as boss of nhs test and trace, succeeding simon thompson, sky news reports. 22 october chancellor rishi sunak unveils increased support for jobs and workers affected by covid restrictions, with employers paying less and employees able to work fewer hours before qualifying for extra financial help. the canary islands, the greek island of mykonos, the maldives and denmark are added to the quarantine exemption list, effective from 4am on 24 october, while liechtenstein is removed from it. 23 october the office for national statistics estimates there to be 35,200 daily covid cases in england, an increase of 25% on the previous week, with the highest number of cases occurring in northern england. a warning is issued that bogus "covid marshals" are visiting people's homes in an attempt to gain entry so they can issue spurious fines or even offer counterfeit tests for covid-19. 24 october an error message when trying to access the nhs covid-19 app is reported by some users of the newly launched iphone 12 and iphone 12 pro. shakespeare's globe, birmingham hippodrome, the old vic theatre and the english national ballet are among 35 arts venues to receive financial help from the culture recovery fund. 25 october the telegraph suggests the 14-day quarantine period for those who come into contact with a person having tested positive for covid-19 could be cut to seven days amid ongoing criticism of nhs test and trace. 26 october pharmacy retailer boots announces it will make available a covid test that can give a result in twelve minutes. the test, produced by lumiradx, will cost £120. scientists report that the oxford university covid-19 vaccine shows a "strong immune response" among elderly volunteers. 27 october a study by imperial college london and ipsos mori suggests covid-19 antibodies may last a matter of months, with figures indicating the number of people with antibodies has fallen by 26.5% over three months. the united kingdom records 367 covid-19 deaths, the highest number in a single day since may. office for national statistics figures indicate the number of deaths mentioning covid-19 in england and wales has risen for the sixth week in a row, with 670 death certificates mentioning the condition in the week up to 19 october, a 53% increase on the previous week. 28 october a projection published by the scientific advisory group for emergencies (sage) suggests covid deaths will remain high throughout the coming winter, leading to a greater number of deaths than was seen earlier in the year. 29 october a study by imperial college london suggests there are 100,000 new covid-19 cases in england each day, with the number of cases doubling every nine days. an updated version of the nhs covid-19 contact tracing app will issue more self-isolation notices, its new boss, gaby appleton, has said. cyprus and lithuania are removed from the quarantine exemption list, the change taking effect from 4am on sunday 1 november. model railway maker hornby reports a 33% increase in profits during the six months up to september 2020 as more people take up hobbies during lockdown. broadcaster channel 4 announces plans to repay £1.5m in furlough payments to the government after finding itself in a "robust financial position ahead of expectations". 30 october documents produced by the scientific advisory group for emergencies have claimed covid-19 is spreading "significantly" faster through england than their predicted "worst-case" scenario, with four times as many cases as anticipated. the office for national statistics infection survey in england showed that secondary school children up to age 16 had the fastest rate of increase in covid-19 incidence of any age range, giving them the second highest average incidence of 2.0% of any measured age range, fifty times higher than when children returned to school after the summer holiday, and just slightly behind the 16 to 24 years old age range. mark drakeford, the first minister of wales, says that the uk government is to hold a meeting to discuss a set of uk-wide covid rules for christmas. 31 october the uk reaches a million covid-19 cases, as a further 21,915 recorded cases take the total to 1,011,660. after scientists project that there could be several thousand covid deaths a day, prime minister boris johnson holds a downing street press conference at which he announces a second lockdown for england, for four weeks from thursday 5 november to wednesday 2 december, in order to prevent what he describes as a "medical and moral disaster" for the nhs. england will then revert to the tier system. unlike the first lockdown in march, schools, colleges and universities remained open during the four week period. the furlough scheme, scheduled to end of 31 october, is extended until december following the announcement of the england-wide lockdown. the 2020 six nations championship, delayed because of the covid crisis, comes to a conclusion with england winning the title. 1 november mortgage payment holidays for people financially impacted by the covid crisis are extended, having been scheduled to expire on 31 october. 2 november an article produced by the oxford university-based centre for evidence-based medicine suggests slides estimating the number of covid deaths presented at the downing street press conference on 31 october are based on models from at least three weeks ago, and are therefore overestimating the number of potential fatalities. a uk study of 100 people who have tested positive for covid-19 shows they still have t cells six month after infection. brexit party leader nigel farage applies to change the name of the party to reform uk, and says it will fight the government's "woeful" response to covid-19 and its lockdown strategy that "result in more life-years lost than it hopes to save". 3 november a further 397 covid-related deaths take the total number of fatalities to 47,250, the highest daily rise since 27 may. 4 november mps vote 516–39 to support the four-week lockdown restrictions for england that come into force from the following day, with 34 conservative mps among those to vote against the measures, while a further 19 conservatives abstain from voting. the uk records a further 492 covid-related deaths, the highest number since 19 may, and bringing the total to 47,742. 5 november as england's second lockdown begins, the uk statistics authority criticises the government over the way it presented data estimating potential covid deaths to justify the measures at the 31 october downing street press conference, and calls for greater transparency of data and the way projections are made. chancellor rishi sunak extends the furlough scheme to the end of march 2021. germany and sweden are removed from the quarantine exemption list with effect from 4am on saturday 7 november. 6 november figures from the office for national statistics indicate the rate of growth of covid-19 cases is slowing; the ons reports there were around 50,000 in the week