Where to Find the Latest on Current UK COVID Restrictions

by | Feb 11, 2022 | EMEA - Other Countries | 1 comment

As I write this, it’s a beautiful Friday morning in springtime. The sun has been shining almost all month; the buds are budding and the dew is dropping. More importantly, the beer gardens are opening all across our fair city and there is absolutely no park in sight that doesn’t have its fair share of May revelers. Are the strict UK Covid the cause?

Non-Essential? Photo by Chloe Evans on Unsplash
Non-Essential? Photo by Chloe Evans on Unsplash

Living so far north, there’s always an explosion of activity (and visible body parts) during spring after so much prolonged greyness. But we’re now dealing with not just a weather-based greyness but also a greyness of the soul, body, spirit, and mind after over a year of living under UK COVID restrictions.

The coming of spring feels as though it should be tied to the coming of greater freedoms from the cautious lifestyle enforced by the authorities, but no matter your personal level of comfort with becoming part of the world again, there’s still the need to be aware of the UK COVID restrictions, how to find out about them, and how often to check that they haven’t changed.

If you were living in the UK at Christmastime, you certainly remember the grand promises made about our 5-day free-for-all and the idea that Christmas (and Christmas shopping on the high street) would be saved. Of course, you will also remember, that whole idea collapsed over the space of about two days, from “of course, you can!” to “of course, you can’t.”

With that in mind, where can you go to keep tabs on the latest, up-to-the-minute information on COVID restrictions from the British government? Well, lucky for you there are four countries in this country, and the restrictions are different depending on which one you call home. For the best results, it’s important to check several websites. Make them part of your Bookmarks toolbar and check them along with your e-mail so that you’re never caught unawares again.

1. The Official Government UK COVID Website

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-coronavirus-restrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do This website is the go-to, but it’s extremely dry and leads to an infinite number of spinoff PDFs.

2. UK COVID BBC explainer

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-52530518 The good folks at the BBC have parsed out the government’s advice by country, with a small blurb for each restriction that fully explains it. Still long, but much more readable.

3. Public Health England Twitter with UK COVID Details

https://twitter.com/PHE_uk This Twitter feed is useful for getting the straight dope about what’s really happening, so you can think through what the government’s forecasting with actual data. Are deaths rising? What track do we seem to be on? Should you get a refundable ticket? (yes). Keeping tabs on PHE twitter day to day can help you with all of these questions.

4. Your City’s Mayoral Office

If you’re living in a hotspot, if you want a dialed-in view on what’s happening locally, if you’re interested to see what your city is doing on the local level with regard to COVID ordinances, check their Twitter feed as well. Here’s the one for London: https://twitter.com/LDN_gov

5. Finally, the Failsafe Quick-Check With a Countdown to Normalcy

The good folks at One Way Road to Beer. This website is simple–it tells you who you can get a beer with, and when. That’s it. Simple. https://onewayroadtobeer.com/

English Biergarten - Photo by Ryan Finn from Flickr
English Biergarten – Photo by Ryan Finn from Flickr

These five websites are a great start for keeping tabs on what current restrictions are in place, but it’s also important to keep an eye on the news and on what scientists and government advisors are saying.

Every day at 4 pm, the Guardian’s website will announce upcoming government press conferences. The people who advise the government will make statements to the press to push their points into public knowledge and to pressure the government to take action before outbreaks become too drastic.

Keep an eye out for the one on 17 May–that’s the next date when restrictions are meant to change, and when international travel is scheduled to be permitted. You don’t have to make yourself a full conspiracy yarn-wall, but forewarned is forearmed. Make sure you can have your Pimms cup with confidence!

For more up-to-date information from the UK and countries around the world, make sure you register for free. You will get access to our in-country expat experts, the Alliance Team – trusted people who can save you lots of time and money.

by: Katie Bergen