England to go into second lockdown

England will go into a second national lockdown on Thursday that will continue until the start of December in an effort to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, with non-essential shops and hospitality to close.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made the announcement on Saturday, as the United Kingdom recorded another 21,915 confirmed novel coronavirus cases, bringing the total since the pandemic began to over one million.

Schools, universities and colleges will remain open and takeaways and supermarkets will also stay open.

Johnson said from Thursday people in England must stay at home as much as possible.

"You must stay at home, you may only leave home for specific reasons, including education, work," he said. "I'm afraid non-essential shops, leisure and entertainment venues will all be closed, though, click and collect services, will continue and essential shops will remain open. Pubs, bars, restaurants, must close, except for takeaway and delivery services."

The furlough system that was due to end on Saturday will be extended through November.

Work places will stay open where people cannot work from home and people will not be asked to shield again "in the same way" as last time, but Johnson urged those who are vulnerable to minimize their contact with others.

The prime minister said support bubbles can still be formed and children will be able to move homes if their parents are separated.

He added that Christmas will be "different this year" but hopes that by "taking tough action, we can allow families across the country to be together".

Parliament will debate and vote on these measures on Wednesday.

Johnson said: "We're not going back to the full-scale lockdown of March and April, the measures that I've outlined are far less primitive and less restrictive. Though, I'm afraid, from Thursday, the basic message is the same: Stay at home, protect the NHS, and save lives."