usual at vale castle, attended by 3,500 people but with its lineup of performers being entirely from guernsey. 31 august the eat out to help out scheme comes to an end. over 160 million meals were eaten under the scheme, at a cost to the government of about £849 million. a university of warwick study later concluded that some areas with high scheme uptake had increased new infections after about a week and that 8% to 17% of new infection clusters could be linked to the scheme. airline operator tui launches an investigation after sixteen passengers on a flight from zante to cardiff subsequently test positive for covid-19, amid claims safety measures were ignored on the flight. the reading and leeds festivals, cancelled in 2020 because of the covid-19 pandemic, announce plans for their 2021 festivals from 27 to 29 august 2021. 1 september the majority of schools in england, wales and northern ireland reopen for the autumn term. kpmg speculate that the uk economy is unlikely to reach its pre-covid level until early 2023. workers on low incomes required to self-isolate in parts of england where covid-19 rates are high, and who cannot work from home, become entitled to a new payment scheme to top up their existing universal credit or working tax credit claims for the duration of their isolation. the scheme will be trialled in blackburn with darwen, pendle and oldham but will roll-out to other areas with lockdown restrictions if successful. companies using the uk government's furlough scheme are required to contribute towards employees' wages as the scheme draws nearer to its end. manchester united footballer marcus rashford forms a task force with some of the uk's leading food brands aimed at reducing child food poverty. amid concerns portugal could be taken off the quarantine exemption list after covid-19 cases there rise, iag chief executive willie walsh warns that holidaymakers returning from portugal to the uk would face "chaos and hardship" if quarantine is reimposed. 2 september chancellor rishi sunak attempts to reassure mps in the conservative party there will not be a "horror show of tax rises with no end in sight" as the johnson government deals with the financial impact of the covid-19 pandemic. the travel operator tui cancels all flights to the party resort of laganas, on the greek island of zante from 3 september after some of its customers failed to follow covid-19 safety regulations. 3 september baroness dido harding, the head of nhs test and trace apologises after it emerges that uk laboratories are struggling to keep up with demand for covid tests, and some people were asked to travel several hundred miles to get tested for the virus. health secretary matt hancock announces £500m of funding for trials of a 20-minute covid-19 test. scotland and wales remove portugal from their quarantine exemption list, but the rules remain unchanged in england and northern ireland, leading to confusion for tourists. although the number of cases in portugal has passed the level at which the uk government would consider imposing quarantine restrictions, the government says several factors are taken into account when considering the situation, including the level of testing in a particular country. 4 september transport secretary grant shapps acknowledges that rules regarding quarantine in the uk are "confusing" after scotland and wales impose quarantine regulations on travellers arriving from portugal. in response, prime minister boris johnson says that although devolved governments are taking different decisions "overwhelmingly the uk is proceeding as one". boris johnson rules out introducing covid-19 tests at airports after suggestions they could be used to shorten the length of time people are required to quarantine, saying they give a "false sense of security". virgin atlantic announces the loss of another 1,150 jobs as part of its rescue package. 5 september leading epidemiologist dame anne johnson warns the uk faces a "critical moment" in the covid-19 pandemic, as students prepare to return to universities and cases rise among younger people. scientists warn that the main test used to detect covid-19 may be wrongly producing a positive result because of fragments of dead material from previous infections. in a letter sent to the heads of government departments, the uk government has urged them to get civil servants back to their office desks as soon as possible. dr dominic pimenta, who resigned in protest over dominic cummings' trip to durham, pledges to donate the royalties from a book he has written about his experiences with covid-19 to nhs charities. the disability charity scope expresses its concern that many people with disabilities are being "pushed out" of the post-lockdown world because of anxiety about leaving their homes. 6 september sir lindsay hoyle, the speaker of the house of commons, tells times radio he has spoken to the uk government and the nhs about the possibility of daily covid-19 tests for mps that may allow them to safely fill the house of commons chamber, but says he would not "compromise health and safety". a further 2,988 covid-19 cases are reported in 24 hours in the uk, the highest number since 22 may. health secretary matt hancock says he is "concerned" about a rise in cases "predominantly among young people". 7 september with a third of covid-19 cases over the preceding week being among those aged 20–29, health secretary matt hancock warns younger people they risk causing a second wave of the virus if they do not adhere to social distancing rules. a further 2,948 new cases of covid-19 are recorded, along with three deaths. the uk government announces the introduction of island travel corridors in place of country-wide quarantine rules. seven greek islands are taken off the quarantine exemption list for travellers arriving to england, but greece remains a quarantine free destination. hollyoaks and eastenders return to screens after their break. 8 september health secretary matt hancock tells the house of commons the "sharp rise" in covid-19 cases is "concerning", and a sign that the virus "remains a threat". he urges people to adhere to social distancing measures. later that day, the government announces that social gatherings of more than six people will be banned in england from monday 14 september. jonathan van tam, england's deputy chief medical officer, says the jump in daily cases is of "great concern". the uk records a further 2,460 new covid-19 cases, and 30 deaths. the royal college of gps calls for the establishment of a network of clinics to support people who are chronically ill for several months with covid-19 symptoms. in an interview with itv news political editor robert peston, professor john edmunds of the scientific advisory group for emergencies (sage), warns that covid-19 cases are "increasing exponentially". composer andrew lloyd webber warns that the arts are at the "point of no return" because of the impact of the covid-19 pandemic. supermarket chain morrisons announce plans to convert thousands of temporary jobs into permanent ones in order to expand its online operations during the pandemic; iceland says it has also hired thousands of new workers. 9 september trials for a covid-19 vaccine being developed by astrazeneca and the university of oxford are paused after a participant in the uk suffers an adverse reaction. new rules regarding social gatherings in england from 14 september are outlined 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 announcement on mass testing quickly attracts scrutiny from scientists and health experts, who voice their doubt as to whether testing several million people daily with a quick turnaround is achievable with existing laboratory capacity. 10 september health secretary matt hancock praised belgium's effort to suppress the virus as he "sought to justify strict new" regulations on this basis. he modelled uk restrictions, such as the new "rule of six", on the sophie wilmes experiment. sister bliss from the dance act faithless voices her concern that uk nightclubs are being "left to rot in a corner" because of lack of support for the sector. captain sir tom moore carries out his first duty as an honorary colonel, with an inspection of junior soldiers at a graduation ceremony at harrogate's army foundation college. a paper published by the scientific advisory group for emergencies suggests operation moonshot could lead to 41 per cent of the uk population having to self-isolate needlessly within six months due to the generation of false positives, and warns of potential school closures and workers' losing their wages through incorrect test results. the all party parliamentary group on sexual and reproductive health warns that the pandemic has made a "difficult situation even worse" with regard to women obtaining contraception services. 11 september the r number is raised to between 1.0 and 1.2 for the first time since march. a launch date of 24 september is confirmed for an nhs contact-tracing app covering england and wales, which will rely on users to scan a qr code whenever they visit hospitality businesses. 12 september the police federation warns the uk against enjoying a "party weekend" ahead of new restrictions on socialising. the joint astrazeneca–oxford university vaccine project is resumed after it was deemed safe to continue. former chief scientific adviser sir mark walport warns that the uk is "on the edge of losing control" of covid-19 as recorded cases exceed 3,000 for the second day in a row. 13 september nearly 17,000 people from 57 countries take part in a virtual great north run after the official event was cancelled. food outlets, including deliveroo, write to the government requesting an extension to the moratorium on commercial evictions for non-payment of rent, which is due to end on 30 september. 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. equivalent rules also begin in wales and scotland with some differences including exemptions for children beneath the ages of 11 and 12 respectively. kit malthouse, the minister for crime and policing, suggests people should report their neighbours to the authorities for any breach of the "rule of six" restrictions. the labour party confirms that their leader, sir keir starmer, is self-isolating after a member of his household "showed possible symptoms of covid-19". a new laboratory-made covid-19 antibody treatment using monoclonal antibodies is to be trialled in uk hospitals, with 2,000 patients initially receiving the treatment. chief scientific adviser sir patrick vallance says that he was rebuked by officials for favouring a lockdown early on in the pandemic. 15 september unemployment figures show that uk unemployment rose to 4.1% in the three months to july, up from 3.9% on the previous quarter. chancellor rishi sunak says looking for new ways to protect jobs is his "number one priority" while labour calls for the furlough scheme to be extended. home secretary priti patel suggests that families stopping to talk to each other in the street would be in breach of the "rule of six" law. office for national statistics figures show that weekly covid-19 related deaths in england and wales fell below 100 for the first time since march during the week ending 28 august, with 78 deaths registered that week; the drop is partly due to the august bank holiday weekend, over which fewer deaths were registered. 16 september appearing before a committee of mps, prime minister boris johnson says that a second national lockdown would have "disastrous" financial consequences for the uk, and that the government is doing "everything in our power" to avoid that scenario. following an investigation by the competition commission, travel operator tui says it will clear a backlog of refunds by the end of september. figures reveal that the uk's inflation rate fell to 0.2% in august, from 1% in july. the fall is partly due to cheaper restaurant meals through the eat out to help out scheme, which saw prices rise at their slowest rate in five years. álex cruz, ceo of british airways says a "fire and rehire"