What Boris Johnson said in his winter coronavirus plan

He outlined a number of new measures to get the country through the next few months of the pandemic.

Mr Johnson said: "For the first time since this wretched virus took hold, we can see a route out of the pandemic.

"I'm conscious that no other peacetime Prime Minister has asked so much of the British people.

"And just as our country has risen to every previous trial, so too it has responded this time, and I am deeply grateful.

"The hard truth is we’re not there yet.

“First we must get through winter without the virus spreading out of control and squandering our hard-won gains at exactly the time where the burden on the NHS is always greatest.

“Our winter plan is designed to carry us safely to spring.”

Here's the key takeaways from his address.

National restrictions will end on December 2

National lockdown restrictions in England will end on December 2, allowing people to leave their homes to meet other people in public spaces under the Rule of Six.

Worship, weddings, and outdoor sports can resume, with shops, personal care businesses, gyms, and the wider leisure sector allowed to reopen.

Mr Johnson told MPs: “From next Wednesday people will be able to leave their home for any purpose and meet others in outdoor public spaces, subject to the rule of six, collective worship, weddings and outdoor sports can resume, and shops, personal care, gyms and the wider leisure sector can reopen.

“But without sensible precautions, we would risk the virus escalating into a winter or New Year surge.

“The incidents of the disease is, alas, still widespread in many areas.”

The tier system will return – with more consistency

Residents can expect a return to "tougher" regional tiers.

The Prime Minister said: “So we’re not going to replace national measures with a free for all, the status quo anti-Covid, we’re going to go back instead to a regional tiered approach – applying the toughest measures where Covid is most prevalent.

“And while the previous local tiers did cut the ‘R’ number, they were not quite enough to reduce it below one.

“So the scientific advice, I’m afraid, is that as we come out our tiers need to be made tougher.”

Outlining the tiers, Mr Johnson said that those in Tier 1 should work from home wherever possible, whilst Tier 2 will see a return of the rule stating alcohol can only be served in hospitality settings as part of a substantial meal.

In Tier 3, indoor entertainment, hotels and other accommodation will have to close, along with all forms of hospitality except for delivery and takeaways.

He added that he is “very sorry” for the “hardship” that such restrictions will cause business owners.

All areas under a certain tier will be subject to the same rules, with Mr Johnson adding: “Unlike the previous arrangements, tiers will now be a uniform set of rules.

"We won’t have negotiations on additional measures with each region, it’s a uniform set of rules.

"We’ve learnt from experience that there are some things we can do differently.”

Curfews on hospitality venues have been relaxed

Hospitality venues able to open will no longer have to adhere to a strict 10pm curfew.

All venues able to open under the tier system in place across their area will now be able to open until 11pm, as long as last orders are taken by 10pm.

Alongside the change, enforcement abilities of local authorities will be strengthened – with the government giving councils specially trained officers and new powers to close down premises that "pose a risk to public health".

People will be able to see their family this Christmas

Families will be able to see each other at Christmas, as Mr Johnson said the Government is working on a time-limited Christmas dispensation with the devolved administrations.

He told the Commons: “I can’t say that Christmas will be normal this year, but in a period of adversity time spent with loved ones is even more precious for people of all faiths and none.

“We all want some kind of Christmas, we need it, we certainly feel we deserve it. But what we don’t want is to throw caution to the winds and allow the virus to flare up again, forcing us all back into lockdown in January.

“So to allow families to come together, while minimising the risk, we’re working with the devolved administrations on a special time-limited Christmas dispensation, embracing the whole of the United Kingdom.”

Despite the news that special rules will allow families to mix at Christmas, Mr Johnson has reminded people that this will still not be a return to normal.

Speaking in the House of Commons, he said: "2020 has been, in many ways, a tragedy, when so many have lost loved ones and faced financial ruin and this will be still a hard winter.

"Christmas cannot be normal and it's a long road to spring but we have turned a corner and the escape route is in sight."

Care home residents will be able to 'hug and hold hands' with visitors

People in care homes will be able to have two visitors who can hug and hold hands with them by the end of the year.

Mr Johnson said that two people, two are tested twice a week, will be able to visit each resident, and spend personal time with them instead of "waving through a window".

Care workers looking after people in their own homes will be offered weekly tests from today.

From next month, weekly tests will also be available to staff in prisons, food manufacturing and those delivering and administering Covid vaccines.

Mr Johnson said testing will enable students to “go home safely for Christmas” and return back to university.

The vaccine will be handed out to everyone

The Prime Minister said the UK has “more than enough for everyone in the UK, the crown dependencies and the overseas territories” when it comes to vaccines.

He told the Commons: “The most hopeful advance of all is how vaccines are now edging ever closer to liberating us from the virus, demonstrating emphatically that this is not a pandemic without end.

“We can take great heart from today’s news, which has the makings of a wonderful British scientific achievement. The vaccine developed with astonishing speed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca is now one of three capable of delivering a period of immunity.

“We don’t yet know when any will be ready and licensed but we have ordered 100 million doses of the Oxford vaccine and over 350 million in total, more than enough for everyone in the UK, the crown dependencies and the overseas territories.

“And the NHS is preparing a nationwide immunisation programme ready next month, the like of which you have never witnessed.”

Boris Johnson said that rapid testing is being deployed in the NHS and in care homes.

He said: “As soon as a vaccine is approved, we will dispense it as quickly as possible. But given that this can’t be done immediately, we will simultaneously use rapid turnaround testing, the lateral flow testing that gives results within 30 minutes to identify those without symptoms so they can isolate and avoid transmission.

“We’re beginning to deploy these tests in our NHS and in care homes in England so people will once again be able to hug and hold hands with loved ones instead of waving at them through a window.”

Community testing will be rolled out

Boris Johnson said a “very substantial fall in infections” has occurred in Liverpool after more than 200,000 people took part in community testing, telling MPs: “Together with NHS Test and Trace and our fantastic armed forces, we will now launch a major community testing programme offering all local authorities in Tier 3 areas in England a six-week surge of testing.

“The system is untried and there are of course many unknowns, but if it works we should be able to offer those who test negative the prospect of fewer restrictions, for example meeting up in certain places with others who have also tested negative.

“Those towns and regions which engage in community testing will have a much greater chance of easing the rules, the tiering they currently endure.”

Mr Johnson said daily testing will also be used as part of attempts to “end automatic isolation” for close contacts of those testing positive for Covid-19.

The Prime Minister said: “Beginning in Liverpool later this week, contacts who are tested every day for a week will only need to isolate if they themselves test positive. If successful, this approach will be extended across the health system next month and to the whole of England from January.”

Work is ongoing to allow Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to benefit from these advances, Mr Johnson said.