scheme to move cabin crew onto inferior contracts as part of cost-cutting measures is "off the table". his comments come after criticism from unions and mps. 17 september baroness dido harding, the chief executive of nhs test and trace tells a committee of mps that demand for covid-19 testing is "significantly outstripping the capacity we have", but that she is "very confident" daily testing capacity can be raised to 500,000 by the end of october. john lewis & partners announces it won't pay its staff a bonus for the first time since 1953, having been financially affected by the lockdown closures; the firm posted a pre-tax loss of £635m for the first six months of 2020. the office for national statistics reports that 62% of workers travelled to work during the previous week. 18 september the r number rises to between 1.1 and 1.4 as government scientists warn the virus is widespread across the country and there are "far worse things to come". prime minister boris johnson says a second wave of covid-19 infections is coming to the uk, and that he doesn't "want to go into bigger lockdown measures", but further restrictions with regard to social distancing may be necessary. a study by imperial college london of a "lab-on-a-chip" device shows it can give an accurate covid-19 result in 90 minutes; the device is already being used by eight nhs hospitals. office for national statistics figures show that retail sales are 4% higher than in march, largely because of an increase in sales of diy and household goods, but sales of clothes have dropped. sir van morrison releases three lockdown protest songs, in which he accuses the government of "taking our freedom". animal welfare charities are warning of the dangers of puppy farming, smuggling and dog theft after the price of puppies rose on average to £1,900 during the covid-19 pandemic. london cancels the annual new year's eve fireworks display. 19 september nicola sturgeon, mark drakeford and arlene foster, the respective first ministers of scotland, wales and northern ireland, call for "urgent" government intervention from the uk government to help the aerospace sector, which is struggling because of the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the aviation industry. the uk government announces the levy of a fine of up to £10,000 for people in england who refuse to self-isolate. the new law, enforceable from 28 september, will apply to anyone testing positive for covid-19, or a person ordered to self-isolate through contact-tracing. a one-off £500 payment can be given to the less well-off, while fines for employers who penalise employees for self-isolating will also be introduced. robert dingwall, professor of sociology at nottingham trent university, suggests there is growing public support for a complete re-evaluation of the government's strategy for dealing with covid-19 as scientific knowledge of the virus develops. 20 september the sunday telegraph reports that sir graham brady, chairman of the 1922 committee of backbench conservative mps, plans to amend the legislation that gives ministers emergency powers during the covid-19 pandemic. the coronavirus act 2020, due for its six-month review later in the month, comes up for renewal against a backdrop of frustration among backbench mps over the government's handling of the pandemic. the telegraph report suggests the amendment would require a parliamentary vote each time new emergency powers are used, or fresh restrictions are introduced. it is reported that 1,000 jobs at butlins are at risk when the furlough scheme comes to an end. westminster abbey holds a service to mark the 80th anniversary of the battle of britain, the first service to be held there since march, although with greatly reduced attendance. 21 september at a downing street press conference, dr patrick vallance, the uk government's chief scientific adviser, says that there could be as many as 50,000 covid-19 cases per day by mid-october if no further action is taken, and this "would be expected to lead to about 200 deaths per day". the uk covid-19 alert level is upgraded to level 4, meaning transmission is "high or rising exponentially". the government scraps rail franchising, and announces plans to extend financial support for rail companies by another 18 months; passenger numbers have increased since the beginning of the pandemic, but are still less than half their pre-pandemic volume. anneliese dodds, the shadow chancellor, accuses the government of misspending billions of pounds in response to the pandemic. sir graham brady tells the bbc that ministers have "got into the habit of ruling by decree" and warns that public opinion is "moving", and that parliament must therefore approve any further covid-19 restrictions. the ftse 100 share index falls by more than 3% amid concerns a fresh wave of covid-19 cases will impinge upon the economy, with shares in airlines, travel firms, hotel groups and pubs contributing to the fall. 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. similar measures are announced for other parts of the uk by the leaders of the devolved governments. in a televised address to the nation, johnson calls for people to exercise resolve and discipline to combat the virus, but warns further measures may be required if they do not adhere to the restrictions. andrew bailey, the governor of the bank of england, calls on the government to "stop and rethink" the furlough scheme, which is scheduled to finish at the end of october. 23 september 6,178 new covid-19 cases are recorded, the highest daily number recorded since 1 may. the uk government scraps plans for an autumn budget because of the covid-19 pandemic. chancellor rishi sunak announces he will make a statement to the house of commons the following day on what happens after the furlough scheme finishes after the uk government comes under mounting pressure from opposition politicians to decide on a replacement. the uk government confirms that food outlets without an alcohol licence, such as mcdonald's and pret a manger will not need to serve customers at tables. sir john stevens, a former commissioner of the metropolitan police expresses concern at plans for military involvement in the enforcement of covid-19 restrictions, describing it as "tantamount to martial law" and "dangerous". supermarket retailer asda announces it will introduce tougher measures to enforce the wearing of face coverings by its customers. 24 september new regulations (si 1029) come into force, in part, at 5 am in england, prohibiting certain ′restricted businesses′ and ′restricted services′ from carrying on that business or providing that service between the hours of 22:00 and 05:00. the regulations affect a wide range of establishments, including restaurants, bars, public houses, social clubs, casinos, bingo halls, bowling alleys, cinemas, theatres, concert halls, amusement arcades, funfairs (indoors or outdoors), theme parks and adventure parks. the protected area of bolton is excluded from the scope of this legislation as additional restrictions apply. the second version of the nhs contact-tracing app is made available for download by everyone aged 16 or over in england and wales. in a statement to the house of commons, chancellor rishi sunak announces the job support scheme as a replacement to the furlough scheme, beginning on 1 november. under the scheme, people who work reduced hours will receive government help to top up their wages to two-thirds of their full pay. the chancellor also announces extension (at a reduced level) of help for self-employed people, longer repayment periods for business loans, and an extension to the temporary reduction in vat for hospitality and tourism companies. the uk records a further 6,634 cases, the largest daily increase since mass testing began. denmark, slovakia, iceland and curaçao are removed from the quarantine exemption list, requiring travellers arriving from there after 4:00am on 26 september to self-isolate for two weeks; no countries are added to the exemption list. the telegraph reports that more than 40 backbench conservative mps have backed the brady amendment, requiring the uk government to seek a parliamentary vote for any further lockdown restrictions. the financial times reports that the uk could be the first country in the world to conduct "challenge trials", in which healthy people are infected with covid-19 to test possible vaccines, with london suggested as a possible area where this could happen. 25 september the r number rises from 1.1–1.4 to 1.2–1.5. trials by novavax of a covid-19 vaccine that trains the immune system to produce antibodies begin in the uk with 10,000 participants expected to take part. senior conservative mp and former minister caroline nokes urges the government to provide more support for women dealing with the economic effects of the covid-19 pandemic. jo grady of the university and college union voices concern that students are being used as scapegoats for covid-19 outbreaks, and says this should not happen. 1,700 students at manchester metropolitan university student halls were told to isolate for 14 days after 127 students tested positive. figures from british transport police indicate that of the 14,726 people stopped for not wearing face coverings on trains between 15 july and 15 august, 14 were issued with a fixed penalty notice, fewer than 0.1%. 26 september the consumer group which? estimates that shoppers have lost as much as £100m in unused vouchers because of lockdown. a glitch with the nhs covid-19 app that left users unable to input the results of a negative test if the test was not booked through the app has been fixed, the department of health and social care confirms. a spokeswoman for the department says that "everyone who receives a positive test result can log their result on the app". thousands of protesters gather in trafalgar square, london for an anti-covid restrictions protest, but the demonstration is closed down by police because those present do not comply with social distancing regulations. mark drakeford, the first minister of wales, criticises prime minister boris johnson for not meeting regularly enough with the uk's devolved leaders over the covid-19 pandemic. with as many as 3,000 students locked down in their accommodation around the uk, robert halfon, chairman of the house of commons education select committee, urges the uk government to update their guidance for students, and to reassure students and their families. he also describes the situation of having students in lockdown for christmas as something that would cause "huge anguish". prime minister boris johnson pledges £500m to a global vaccine sharing scheme. the covax aims to give poor countries access to a covid-19 vaccine. 27 september the labour party urges the government to pause the return of university students as thousands self-isolate due to covid-19 outbreaks, but the return is defended by culture secretary oliver dowden, who says clear guidelines are in place for universities. david lammy, the shadow secretary of state for justice, expresses concern that 10pm pub curfews have led to drinkers continuing to socialise afterwards, with them "hanging around towns" and "potentially spreading the virus". lammy says that labour are "very sympathetic" to a bid by backbench conservatives for greater parliamentary scrutiny of covid-19 rules. 28 september the remainder of 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. increased fines come into force for those who fail to self-isolate following receipt of a positive covid-19 test, with fines of up to £10,000 for those failing to comply. covid-19 cases have so far been confirmed at 40 universities around the uk. health minister helen whately describes the situation as "really tough" for students, but says outbreaks must be brought "under control". the houses of parliament announces it will stop serving alcohol on its premises after 10pm, despite not being subject to england's covid-19 laws. the national police chiefs council (npcc) confirms officers are being told not to install the nhs covid-19 contact-tracing app to their work smartphones, while some officers have been told they may not need to follow self-isolation alerts if they have the app on their personal phones. 29 september a survey of 2,000