Annex B: Timeline of Regulations
26 March 2020: restrictions on leaving one's home without a reasonable excuse, first announced on 23 March, come into legal effect in England. Very limited exceptions permit travel to work where it is not reasonably possible to work from home. Participating in a gathering of more than two persons is prohibited except where the gathering "is essential for work purposes".
13 May 2020: leaving or being outside one's home without a reasonable excuse continues to be prohibited Some restrictions are relaxed to allow meetings outdoors for exercise or recreation with one person from another household. Guidance encourages those who cannot work from home to go back to work. At work, social distancing advice applies with workplaces required "to avoid crowding and minimise opportunities for the virus to spread by maintaining a distance of at least 2 metres (3 steps) between individuals wherever possible"
1 June 2020: England moves to "step 2" of the government's roadmap in which restrictions on leaving one's home are removed. Gatherings of two or more persons indoors and more than six outdoors are prohibited. An exception permits gatherings that are "reasonably necessary.... for work purposes"
15 June 2020: Non-essential retail businesses are permitted to reopen and individual prayer in places of worship is allowed again
4 July 2020: most remaining national restrictions are removed as pubs and restaurants reopen. Gatherings of more than 30 persons are prohibited
5 July 2020: despite the removal of most national restrictions, local restrictions are retained and reintroduced during July and August in certain areas, including Leicester, Bolton, Greater Manchester and the North East
14 September 2020: a restriction on gatherings of more than six persons indoors and outdoors (the "rule of six") is introduced, subject to exceptions which include where "the gathering is reasonably necessary.... for work purposes"
14 October 2020: a tiered system of progressive restrictions is introduced. London is moved to Tier 2 ("High"), from 17 October, in which two or more persons are prohibited from meeting indoors
5 November 2020: a second national lockdown is introduced which requires people to stay at home and which prohibits gatherings with people from other households except for permitted exceptions, including where the "gathering is reasonably necessary . . . . for work purposes"
2 December 2020: England is divided again into three tiers, with London in Tier 2 in which gatherings of two or more persons continue to be prohibited unless an exception, such as where the gathering is reasonably necessary for work purposes, applies. Government guidance for the Christmas period on visiting pubs and restaurants advises: "although there are exemptions for work purposes, you must not
