New Year’s celebrations will go ahead without new restrictions in England

There will be no new Covid rules in England before the New Year, as confirmed by Sajid Javid.

Speaking to BBC News, the Health Secretary said people should “remain cautious” and celebrate outside on New Year’s Eve if possible.

“When we get into the new year, of course, we will see then whether we do need to take any further measures, but nothing more until then at least,” he said.

This comes as great news to some Brits, as restrictions increase in neighbouring Scotland, Wales and Ireland. The hospitality industry has repeatedly expressed its concerns over the alleged last-minute plans for a circuit breaker lockdown in previous weeks, with many people around the UK dreading the potential for another catastrophic financial hit.

Responding to Javid’s announcement, Michael Kill, CEO of the NTIA, says:

“Following an extremely anxious few weeks for our sector, we are pleased that the Prime Minister has listened to us and announced today that no further restrictions will be implemented before New Year.”

“Our Industry can now start to plan with some certainty over the next week and make up for lost time promoting one of the key nights of the year in the coming days.”

“It is important that given this opportunity that we continue to recognise our responsibility to the public health strategy, and urge our customers to not only support us during this period but play their part in ensuring that this is the start of our recovery.”

“We urge the Government in light of the challenges we have faced over the last month, that they work with us to generate a long term strategy for managing covid variants. It is clear that the open, close strategy, which has had a huge impact on our industry, is not sustainable.”

The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) is the leading trade body representing the businesses in the nighttime economy in the UK. It has more than 1400 members, including nightclubs, bars, casinos, festivals, and supply chain businesses.