London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jul 25, 2025

UK coronavirus lockdown: what you can and cannot do

UK coronavirus lockdown: what you can and cannot do

Everything we know about the restrictions so far

Britain is now in lockdown, and all non-essential businesses must close.

But many questions remain after Monday night’s historic broadcast by the prime minister with many people unsure what they can and cannot do, or which businesses are essential and non-essential.

Interviews with cabinet members over the past 12 hours have shed some more light on the lists of things we can and cannot do.

How long does lockdown last?


At least three weeks.
What remains open?
Parks.
Supermarkets.
Food shops.
Health shops.
Pharmacies, including non-dispensing chemists.
Petrol stations.
Bicycle shops.
Home and hardware stores.
Laundrettes and dry cleaners.
Car rentals.
Pet shops.
Corner shops.
Newsagents.
Post offices.
Banks.
Ordered to close
Restaurants and cafes (exceptions: they can offer food delivery and takeaways).
Workplace canteens (exceptions: canteens in hospitals, care homes, schools, prisons and military canteens, services providing food or drink to the homeless).
Pubs.
Bars and nightclubs, including bars in hotels and members’ clubs.
Hair, beauty and nail salons.
Piercing and tattoo parlours.
Massage parlours.
Auction houses.
Car showrooms.
Caravan parks/sites for commercial use (exceptions: parks where people live permanently, or those used by people as interim abodes where their primary residence is not available).
Libraries.
Playgrounds.
Outdoor gyms.
All shops selling non-essential goods, including clothing and electronic stores.
Community centres, youth centres (exceptions: halls may remain open to host essential voluntary or public services such as food banks and facilities for homeless people).
Churches, mosques and places of worship (exceptions: they can remain open for “solitary prayer”, for funerals with social distancing – the mourners two metres apart – and for live-streaming).
Cinemas (exceptions: live-streaming of a performance if the group of workers exercise social distancing).
Museums and galleries.
Bingo halls.
Casinos and betting shops.
Spas.
Skating rinks.
Gyms.
Swimming pools.
Playgrounds.
Enclosed spaces in parks, including tennis courts and pitches for football, bowling etc, and outdoor gyms (equipment could become contaminated by human touch).
Prisons in England and Wales are closed to visitors.
Services, free movement and work that can continue (according to written government guidance and interviews in past 12 hours)
Advertisement


You should not:

Visit friends in their home.
Meet family members who do not live in your home.
Leaving home
Going out for these reasons is allowed, but limited:

Shopping for basic necessities: “as infrequently as possible”.
Taking one form of exercise a day, for example, a run, walk, or cycle: alone or with members of your household.

Dog walking is permitted as part of the exercise people can take per day. Households with two or more members can take it in turns to walk their dog so the dog gets more than one walk a day.
To look after any medical need, to provide care, or to help a vulnerable person.
To donate blood.
Children aged under 18 with separated parents can visit both homes.
To travel to and from work, “but only where this is absolutely necessary and cannot be done from home”.
For essential work (listed here), including work on construction sites, although there have been conflicting instructions. The housing secretary, Robert Jenrick, said: “If you are working on site, you can continue to do so. But follow Public Health England guidance on social distancing.”


However, the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, has said building workers should not be going to work today unless they are working for safety reasons.


Emergency callouts, but social distancing of two metres must be observed. The minister for the Cabinet Office, Michael Gove, gave the example on BBC Radio 4 of a plumber called out to fix an elderly person’s boiler.
Online shopping.
Social events that are banned
Weddings.
Baptisms and other events, including sporting events.
Visiting family members you do not live with.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
×