COVID-19 pandemic in Great Britain

Britain has prepared for the epidemic as early as the very 1st case in China emerged, around mid-December 2019. The 1st risk assessment exercise was conducted by the British in early January - soon after cases in China started being reported. On 31 January this was extended to all countries in Asia. On February 6, a British businessman in Brighton was diagnosed with the virus after catching it in Singapore becoming the first citizen in Britain to catch the virus. Hand sanitizers was placed in many places where there are large gatherings (schools, offices, shopping centres, sports stadiums etc.).

Nigel Farage announced in a emergency Address to the Nation on the 1 March announced measures to fight against COVID-19 after COVID spread worldwide (see below). Britain were 1 of 6 countries not to introduce and/or enforce some form of lockdown during the pandemic. Farage announced in August that the COVID restrictions will last until the end of the year however in September 22nd Farage announced the COVID restrictions will be extended until the end of March 2021 after many countries entered into a second lockdown for 6 months.

As of 12 June 2020, Britain had 66,281 confirmed cases, 66,281 recoveries, and 45 deaths, there have been no new case since the 1 May. Britain is cited by global media as having one of the best-organised epidemic control programs in the world, along with Japan, Singapore and New Zealand. Several figures have praised Britain's response, the country's response to the outbreak has received acclaim for its immediacy, effectiveness and transparency, in contrast to the cover-up in China, and the poor preparation in Canada, USA (from 2021) and in other European countries.

Only 328 nightclubs remained by 2021. By 2022 they were all closed/shut down. (Board game café replaces Popworld, The Bucket List is open where Club Oxygan nightclub is. Wind Street will become a 'cultural quarter' for the city, creating a distinctive area of cafes, restaurants, pubs, art galleries and studio workshops)

(Select Fashion retailer at the Kingsway Shopping Centre, Newport, Wales still open)\*Domestic travel is banned where the same journey could be made by train took less than 5 hours. This would hit flights such as Manchester to London, London to Edinburgh and Birmingham to Glasgow. Passengers will be offered cheaper train tickets, while anyone taking more than 3 international flights a year would be required to pay a frequent flyer levy

* The government has tried to focus efforts on encouraging the right behaviour and creating social norms rather than mandatory restriction. "A study proved that just 6% of reported deaths are from Covid alone. The rest are comorbidity with heart disease, diabetes, and many more pre-existing conditions"
* "What a ridiculous society we have allowed ourselves to become, hamstrung by virus hysteria still after two years , a virus with infection to death rates of 99.9%, meaning only the vulnerable should have been protected, and now held to ransom by climate fascists,"

### **Pandemic Severity Index chart**

rate
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Intervention by setting

The Great Barrington Declaration – As infectious disease epidemiologists and public health scientists we have grave concerns about the damaging physical and mental health impacts of the prevailing COVID-19 policies, and recommend an approach we call Focused Protection.

Coming from both the left and right, and around the world, we have devoted our careers to protecting people. Current lockdown policies are producing devastating effects on short and long-term public health. The results (to name a few) include lower childhood vaccination rates, worsening cardiovascular disease outcomes, fewer cancer screenings and deteriorating mental health – leading to greater excess mortality in years to come, with the working class and younger members of society carrying the heaviest burden. Keeping students out of school is a grave injustice.

Keeping these measures in place until a vaccine is available will cause irreparable damage, with the underprivileged disproportionately harmed.

Fortunately, our understanding of the virus is growing. We know that vulnerability to death from COVID-19 is more than a thousand-fold higher in the old and infirm than the young. Indeed, for children, COVID-19 is less dangerous than many other harms, including influenza.

As immunity builds in the population, the risk of infection to all – including the vulnerable – falls. We know that all populations will eventually reach herd immunity – i.e.  the point at which the rate of new infections is stable – and that this can be assisted by (but is not dependent upon) a vaccine. Our goal should therefore be to minimize mortality and social harm until we reach herd immunity.

The most compassionate approach that balances the risks and benefits of reaching herd immunity, is to allow those who are at minimal risk of death to live their lives normally to build up immunity to the virus through natural infection, while better protecting those who are at highest risk. We call this Focused Protection.

Adopting measures to protect the vulnerable should be the central aim of public health responses to COVID-19. By way of example, nursing homes should use staff with acquired immunity and perform frequent testing of other staff and all visitors. Staff rotation should be minimized. Retired people living at home should have groceries and other essentials delivered to their home. When possible, they should meet family members outside rather than inside. A comprehensive and detailed list of measures, including approaches to multi-generational households, can be implemented, and is well within the scope and capability of public health professionals.

Those who are not vulnerable should immediately be allowed to resume life as normal. Simple hygiene measures, such as hand washing and staying home when sick should be practiced by everyone to reduce the herd immunity threshold. Schools and universities should be open for in-person teaching. Extracurricular activities, such as sports, should be resumed. Young low-risk adults should work normally, rather than from home. Restaurants and other businesses should open. Arts, music, sport and other cultural activities should resume. People who are more at risk may participate if they wish, while society as a whole enjoys the protection conferred upon the vulnerable by those who have built up herd immunity.

## **Domestic measures**

(PHE is scrapped in 2017. Office for Health Improvement and Disparities does not exist instead its function is done by the UK Centre for Health Protection)

On September 1, 2020 all Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted (except otherwise stated)

* DHSC created the UK Centre for Health Protection as Cygnus recommended a single body be set up - a “Pandemic Concept of Operations” - to avoid similar chaos in a real pandemic. They work with a group of experts represented in relevant scientific fields & ensures that impartial scientific advice is given, they monitor and analyses the spread of COVID-19 in UK and, if necessary, it also draws up preventive and control measures on behalf of the UK Government. It's expected to be responsible for overall planning, ensuring the flow of information and the coordination and harmonisation of all tasks related to COVID-19 within the DHSC until spring 2023. It also ensures networking with other federal agencies, cantonal authorities and other stakeholders. The task force will also bridge communication between organisations. This aims to manage collective response strategically by delegating specific roles to each organisation and directing their interactions during a pandemic. NHS England recognises that a variety of sectors are implicated, hence a central administration and unified protocol to oversee the whole strategy is required for organisations to work synonymously.
* A cross-government working group be established to “consider carefully the information needed to guide the response.”
* Hygiene billboard, 2, 3, 4, 5 (sexual harassment)
* Farage announced that the British government will classify the novel disease as a Notifiable disease
* Nationwide total ban on alcohol (including alcohol sales)
* Airliners must refresh the air properly, double-decker. A new type of ventilation system that envisages a dedicated HEPA filter for each seat and tested the system in a seven-row section of a Boeing 737, to apparently successful results.
* Qualifying period for benefits was abolished to promote responsible behaviour. The aim of this was to stop people feeling that they had to work, despite being infected, because they had no money to live on. 2nd, the Government took on the responsibility, from companies, for sick leave costs for the first 2 months after an employee became ill as a result of COVID-19. 3rd, a sick leave compensation package was launched for workers with COVID-19.
* Older people should be offered home delivery of groceries and other essentials. When seeing friends and relatives, it is best to do it outdoors. Testing should be available for relatives and friends who want to visit. Free N95 masks should be provided for when they cannot avoid potential exposure.
* Physical distancing was only mandatory when visiting elderly care homes
* Private elderly care providers and old nursing facility providers banned visits shortly afterwards. The CHP also urged people aged 70 years or above to avoid close contact with others from March 1.
* People in their 60s are at somewhat high risk, and many are still in the workforce. Those that can work from home should be allowed to do so. For example, teachers in their 60s could teach online courses, or help fellow teachers with grading exams, essays and homework. Those that cannot work from home should be funded to take a 3 to 6-month sabbatical. In addition, workplace disability laws should require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to protect high COVID-19 risk workers without losing their jobs.
* Older people living with working-age adults have higher COVID-19 risk than older people living with other older people. There is no further excess risk if also living with children though. This is the toughest challenge, and family specific solutions must be found. If the working-age household members can work from home, they can isolate together. If that is not possible, the older family member might temporarily be able to live with an older friend or sibling, with whom they can self-isolate together during the height of community transmission. As a last resort, empty hotel rooms could be used for temporary housing.
* Younger people at high-risk must follow the same as above. When herd immunity is reached, they can live normally again with minimal risks. If focused protection is used, it will likely only take 6 months.
* From 1 March 2020, The CHP ordered the closure of all shops in the 'red zones' (see down below)
* On 1 March 2020, responding to indications of community transmission, the CHP advised everyone with respiratory infections, even mild cases, to refrain from social contacts where there is a risk of spreading the virus, in private as well as working life.
* On 1 March 2020, all high-risk employers must remotely work. The CHP urges people to work from home "whenever possible", in 2022 they made work-from-home a legal right. All interviews and meetings must also be moved to online
* On 1 March 2020, the CHP recommended that everyone should avoid travelling within the country. This came after signs of ongoing community transmission in parts of the country, due to concern that a rapid spread over the country would make redistribution of healthcare resources more difficult. They also called for the public to reconsider any planned holidays during the upcoming Easter weekend
* The CHP advised health care staff or anybody else working with risk groups, including nursing homes, to refrain social contract or not work if they have any symptoms of respiratory infection. Relatives of elderly should also avoid unnecessary visits at hospitals and in facilities for elderly, and never visit if there are any respiratory symptoms
* Frequent testing of nursing home staff members that are not already immune, testing of visitors, and less staff rotation so that residents only interact with a limited number of staff people. COVID-19 infected individuals until they recovered should not be sent to nursing homes, and all new residents should be tested.
* On 18 March, secondary and tertiary schools will close from Friday, children will now be taught their lessons online. Secondary and tertiary schools re-opened on September 2020
* The half term holiday break for schools and colleges will be extended to a 2-week break to run from 19th to 30th October, 2020
* Secondary and tertiary schools were closed once again and brought back online learning from 10 December until May 2021.
* Secondary and tertiary schools were closed once again and bring back online learning Christmas break brought forward 1-week, until the end of Jan 2022 due to South African variant
* Schools must increase ventilation in classrooms, in the form of approved HEPA air filter systems/air purifiers
* For official information on the disease and the situation, the authorities referred the public to the website covidinformation.co.uk, which compiles official emergency information from British authorities. The website is operated by the Civil Contingencies Secretariat, as the department responsible for emergency information to the public during emergencies. In early March, the CHP expanded the sentinel surveillance system in use for monitoring the influenza season, so that samples from patients with flu-like symptoms would also be tested for SARS-CoV-2 along with the influenza viruses. Public health departments monitor disease transmission at local level and continuously communicate this to the public. High-risk individuals make decisions and take precautions accordingly. This is done using random population surveys. Information on hospitalizations and mortality is also be tracked. The monitoring system based on positive test results takes into account geographical and temporal variation in testing practices. The information is conveyed to the population in a nuanced way that does not induce panic but instead provides the basis for an accurate assessment of each person’s risk based on their age and comorbid conditions. The goal should be that vulnerable people do not underestimate their risk from COVID-19 infection, and less vulnerable people do not overestimate their risk. Concrete recommendations should accompany the information – including perhaps recommendations to avoid crowds, hand washing, social distancing, and masks when their application to the situation is backed by sound science – that different people might take to reduce their infection risk.
* Beginning in March, press conferences were held daily at 2pm in Downing Street, with President, Vice-President, the CHP (usually represented by Chief Medical Officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty), the Department of Health and Social Care (Health Secretary) and the British Civil Contingencies Agency. In March, the Civil Contingencies Secretariat ordered British TV channels for public service announcements to inform the public about the virus, and how to reduce the spread of the disease to slow down the spread of the virus
* What matters more is targeted interventions on those who are most vulnerable, and rebuilding staffing capacity
* An integrated immigration database from both the National Health Insurance and the Department for Immigration and Visas gives doctors and frontline healthcare officials easier access to data and vetting dishonesty from arrivals into the country. The data tracks each citizen's health record, mask rationing and travel history. The open data information sharing strategy has prevented vital mismatching between hospitals and patients, creating greater efficiency and saved the healthcare system from overload. More than 10,000 private healthcare practices upload their data into this centralised national database. These include patient symptoms, medical records and other important information that could be used by the Public Health to detect cases, respond rapidly to potential clusters and isolate any potential contacts.
* Hand Sanities placed everywhere and are its use are encouraged (2)
* It is encourage that people with flu-like symptoms. If tested positive for COVID must stay home until feeling better. Rest at home, keep warm and drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration. You can take paracetamol or ibuprofen to lower a high temperature and relieve aches if necessary. You can also take ivermectin to help fight off COVID-19
* Take 2 consecutive negative samples of COVID-19 (both pharyngeal and pharyngeal fluid), taken at least 24 hours/test, in a well-ventilated private room, washing hand everyday, limiting contact with vulnerable family members and not to leave their house. Monitor body temperature 2 times a day, check again immediately if fever or other abnormal signs. The method of extracting plasma from cured people to treat severe patients is also considered.
* Free lateral flow tests (the testing kit used is RT-LAMP, CRISPR, RPA, antigen and rapid antigen test) will be provided only in high-risk settings such as care homes, hospitals and to people with flu-like symptoms.
* Extra sick pay and employment support for people (which people have been able to access after one day off sick since the start of the pandemic) is not introduced, with support staying with pre-pandemic arrangements of after 4 days.
* Antivirals Taskforce was set up in order to investigate potential treatments for COVID-19 that could be taken at home. The taskforce will oversee the work and potential trials of such treatments, which would be given to a person upon their testing positive for COVID-19 in a bid to reduce the spread of the virus and speed up recovery time
* Vaccine passports and mask mandates are banned
* All catering places/venues (e.g. cafeterias, cafes, restaurants and bars) must disinfected, wash all plates, cups and cutleries, ensure the food hygiene rating is at minimum 3 and be well-ventilated
* All non-Christians stopped their religious gatherings to stop the spread of the virus from March 2020 "until further notice"
* British Christian churches instructed its clergy to use disposable cups, gloves, and facial tissue during sacraments & celebrations, disinfect church plates & premises regularly and must be well-ventilated
* Butlins' Resort in Minehead closed for 4 weeks starting from Friday 20 March after Minehead locals petitioned for the seaside holiday resort's closure. Minehead is known as a retirement town, and the petition argued the area was vulnerable due to its elderly residents, and that the number of guests travelling to the resort from other places could spread the virus.
* School proms for 2020 and 2021 was cancelled
* All university graduation for 2020 and 2021 were cancelled
* The wedding of Princess Beatrice of York and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi would be held on 17 July 2020 on a private ceremony.
* Chelsea Flower Show 2020 in London was held as a virtual display only
* 2020 Trooping the Colour was reformatted as a private parade of the 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards at Windsor Castle. St George's Chapel is a Roman Catholic church
* Gay Pride Parades 2020 and 2021 across Britain were cancelled, Gay Pride Parades were later not held due to lost interested, change in legislation and changing public attitude towards the Pride parades. Gay villages were removed.
* Miss Universe Great Britain 2020 to 2022 were cancelled. The event was later not held due to lost interested, change in legislation and changing public attitude towards the beauty pagnets.
* All political organized protests (such as BLM, Women's March and Extinction Rebellion) in 2020 and 2021 were cancelled
* Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was cancelled
* All E-Sports events held in Britain in 2020 and 2021 were cancelled
* 2020 to 2022 Great British Beer Festival was cancelled. The event was later not held due to lost interested, change in legislation and changing public attitude towards the Great British Beer Festival

(Notting Hill Carnival is a Western Christian festive season rather than the IRL street festival for Black British, Boomtown does not exist)

#### **Red zone**

* Fast food restaurants
* Nightclubs
* Red-light district (Strip clubs, Adult theaters and any other adult entertainment)
* Casinos
* Betting shops
* Adult gaming centres and arcades
* Off-license
* Tattoo parlours
* Body and skin piercing services
* Tobacco and vape shops
* LGBTQ+ bar
* Sex/porn shops
* Non-medical acupuncture

### Sport

* Failure to follow guidelines will result in the athlete/player and club fined, and the athlete/player may face suspension.
* Throughout the COVID crisis, sports clubs will consistently emphasised the latest health and safety advice from Government and CHP. Both the league and clubs will continue to communicate these messages with fans.
* Bowling alleys must disinfect bowling balls, and be well-ventilated
* Amusement arcade must disinfect arcades machines, and be well-ventilated
* Billiard cues and balls must be disinfected and must be well-ventilated
* All sporting/fitness venues (e.g. gyms, indoor sports centres, swimming pools) must disinfect all equipment and be well-ventilated
* COVID testing with players and staff only required to test if symptomatic. There will be no COVID tests on matchdays in a bid to stop last-minute postponements of games
* Risk assessment and precautions required for players at increased risk (Comorbidity, asthma, heart or lung complications)
* Athletes/players must arrive at training already changed and shower at home. People in the gym or active classes must also shower at home. Vehicle interiors should be cleaned regularly. Other measures to reduce infection spread aside from good hygiene and social distancing include avoiding spitting, chewing gum and use of snus (chewing tobacco). Athletes/players who have symptoms of COVID must stay home, not go to training or matchday and report it.
* Prior to any ticket purchase, competition delivery partners should provide spectators with information on the steps being implemented to minimise the risk of COVID-19, including any modifications being made to the venue.
* Spectators must agree to a new code of behaviour obliging them to take full responsibility for themselves and others by not attending if they have any symptoms or have potentially been exposed to someone with COVID-19.
* Anyone attending an event will also be advised to consider if they are putting themselves at higher risk because of their general state of health or any other risk factors.
* A crowd management plan should be in place, incorporating the controlled entry and exit of spectators (including staggering entry times), and 1-way systems inside the venue to maintain social distancing and minimise the risk of crowding.
* Additional hygiene facilities, such as hand washing and sanitiser stations, should be provided, particularly at entry and exit points to the competition venue and in seating/standing areas.
* Spectator medical requirements should be considered, such as additional isolation rooms, and screening when entering the competition venue.
* Individuals at high-risk or moderate risk are advised to take precautions when attending any sports/entertainment venue or to stay at home.
* Dressing-room areas must be equipped with hygienic facilities and be disinfected before the arrival of the players.
* Clubs are expected to use coaches for matchday travel. All coaches must be must be sterilized and disinfected.
* In the dressing rooms, players will have to bring their own food, which must not be shared.
* There must be individually named water bottles, to prevent any unspotted spread of potential illness and make use of hand-sanitisers before and after every match. Each home club must ensure that hand sanitiser dispensers are freely available throughout the stadium, as well as clearly signposting handwashing facilities (sanitizer sign)
* Post-match broadcast interviews will take place socially distanced. Boom microphones must be used and cleaned between interviews. Huddle interviews are not permitted.
* There must not be any surrounding of match officials or any mass confrontations
* Any players using fitness equipment must be cleaned before and after use. Physios and medical staff must wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) when they come on to treat injured players, or when treating players in the dressing room.
* Treatment tables will be moved further apart, with machinery such as ultrasound equipment thoroughly cleaned between uses.
* All doors should be left “as open as possible” to prevent door handles (where virus spores can live for hours) being touched.
* Teams are not allowed to enter the pitch side-by-side and may come on either by different entrances or staggered. This stopped after the end of the 2021-22 season (except for in football)
* At training grounds extra hand-cleaning facilities must be installed.
* Players must only shower preferably in individual cubicles, although, if possible, they should wait until returning to their hotel rooms or their homes.
* Clubs will apply strict cleaning measures at stadia, with widespread disinfection taking place. Everything that players and staff will come into contact with will be disinfected in both training and matchday: goal posts, match-balls, dugouts, corner poles & flags, substitution boards and changing facilities.
* There will be no ball-boys; sanitized sports balls will be dotted around the pitch placed on top of cones
* Wash your hands regularly, avoid touching your face and wipe surfaces.
* For grassroots football, whoever is organising formal matches or training sessions must conduct a risk assessment and ensure compliance with COVID-19 guidelines, which includes players arriving changed and ready to play and avoiding equipment sharing (handshakes will still be allowed and face masks do not need to be worn).
* Only those who are displaying symptoms should be given lateral flow tests. If their results come back negative but the symptoms persist, they should then take PCR tests
* Golf and Motor racing competitions across Britain were held behind closed doors, this is because fans have to be quiet out of respect for players and funds would not be hurt them when played to no fans. This was decided by world governing bodies upon agreement by the participants and approved by the British Government.
* 300 fans will be allowed to watch Snooker World Championship
* The 2020 London Marathon was postponed from 26 April to 4 October 2020.
* Great Birmingham 10K was postponed to 10 October
* Snowdonia Marathon was postponed to 18 October 2020
* Liverpool Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon was postponed to the weekend on October 24-25, 2020
* Chesterfield Gorge Ultra and 25K postponed to November 28-29, 2020
* All activities including training of women's team sport even behind closed doors was suspended from March 13 until September 1. Women's team sport however extended the suspension "until further notice", the suspension was uplifted February 24, 2022
* All teams in the FA Women's Premier League agreed to end the season with immediate effect on 13 March 2020. The FA Board decided to award places on a points-per-game (PPG) basis, the 2020-21 (and 2021-22) season was also cancelled per agreement vote by all the teams. The FA Women's Cup for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 was also cancelled.
* On 12 March 2020, all non-contact and semi-contact sports (such as Swimming, Athletics, Football and Hurling) have suspending all games from all levels for a 2-week period (14 days), events will continue from weekend continuing March 26. If semi-pro and/or amateur leagues cannot (or do not want to) continue, end the season early and use Adjusted PPG [source]. Training however during the suspension will continue as long as they follow guidelines above.
* Club committee meetings will be held digitally/remotely
* British Swimming has cancelled Olympic swimming trials and announced the FINA Diving World Series, scheduled to take place in London at the end of the month, will not take place.
* All full-contact sports and British combat events (and training) suspended from March 13 until September 1 even behind close doors. Non-contact training can continue as long as they follow guidelines as mentioned above and full-contact training will still continue. There is a mandatory requirement to have a doctor and physiotherapist at rugby games, while best practice advice is to have secondary doctor and physiotherapist cover at every match. The full-contact season will end early and use Adjusted PPG [source]
* British Baseball and British Yardball announced the cancellation of 2020 (and 2021) season and all activities including training was suspended from March 13 until September 1 even behind close doors, this was extended "until further notice", the suspension was uplifted February 24, 2022
* All animal racing events was cancelled in 2020 and 2021. Greyhound racing and any other human racing events must be cancelled and venues hosting then must close
* No club will automatically have to forfeit a sports match if they are affected by COVID, with each case to be assessed on its individual circumstances, considering factors such as whether they followed the necessary protocols; how many players are affected; and what is the strongest team they could actually field, before a decision is made by the tournament organizer's board of directors. They would then decide whether the game should go ahead; be postponed & re-arranged; or forfeited by the team that is unable to fulfil the fixture. If the match is forfeited a default loss to their opponent is awarded. More than 7 positive cases will cause a possible postponement or forfeit in Rugby and GAA. Postponement requests will be rejected unless fewer than 14 players available including reserves and U-19 in football (fewer than 11 players available in cricket), there will also refuse to postpone if players breach the protocols. In rugby a forfeit will result in a score of 48-0, whilst in football it is 3-0

**Darts safety procedures**

* Tickets will be sold as tables of 4. All ticket buyers would be eligible for a full refund
* Crowd numbers have been limited to 1,000 in line with government guidelines and a strict programme of social distancing and COVID-secure measures have been introduced across the venue;
* All tables and chairs are positioned to comply with social distancing guidelines and spectators will not be able to mix between tables;
* The arena will be divided in to 2 separate zones, each with its own entrance/exit and toilet facilities to minimise contact between spectators;
* All food and drink will be ordered via a smartphone app and delivered to tables – there will be no bars or catering concessions for spectators to visit;
* Spectators will be sent a recommended arrival time, and event security staff will manage the exit from the arena in a controlled manner;
* 1-way systems will be in place to manage the flow of people around the venue;
* Hand sanitisation stations will be located across the venue;
* Daily deep cleaning will be conducted across the venue along with enhanced cleaning of public areas in between sessions;
* There will be no Fans Village and all spectators must head straight for their table on arrival;
* The only reason to leave your table during the event will be to visit the toilet;
* Spectators are encouraged to avoid public transport where possible when travelling to the event, with parking available on site;
* All spectators must follow COVID-19 guidelines and not travel to the event if have symptoms of COVID-19;
* Fully-trained COVID-19 Welfare Officers will be on site throughout the duration of the event.
* Doors will open 60 minutes before the start of each session and spectators will be sent a suggested entry time after purchasing their tickets, and at the end of the session everyone will be required to remain seated until told to leave on a row-by-row basis to prevent any grouping or congestion within the venue or by the exits
* Spectators will be permitted to leave the event at any time, but once the event has finished, security staff will control the flow of spectators from the venue by permitting 1 row at a time to leave to maintain social distancing around the exits and external areas at the venue.
* Each table will be allocated one ticket, so all members of that table will need to enter the venue at the same time or they will not be allowed entry
* Unable to permit any spectators on-site in fancy dress. Christmas jumpers, however, are allowed
* Spectators are encouraged avoid bringing bags where possible but any brought on site must be placed underneath their table in a safe manner.
* Bars are shut and no alcohol will be provided.
* No booing or whistling, failure to adhere to requests from event security to comply will result to your removal from the event.
* No smoking areas
* All drinks glasses and bottles are recycled
* All food and drink will need to be ordered through a Food and Drink app [example], which is available via the Apple Store and Google Play store. We encourage all spectators to download this in advance. All items will then be brought directly to your table. The event will be cashless with all food and drink purchases being made through the designated catering app

### Consider visiting your GP if:

* you're 60 years of age or over
* you're pregnant
* you have a long-term medical condition – such as diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, kidney disease or a neurological disease
* you have a weakened immune system – for example because you're having chemotherapy or have HIV
* you develop chest pain, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing or start coughing up blood
* your symptoms are getting worse over time or haven't improved after a week

### **10 'golden rules'**

1. Stay home from work, school and public areas if you're sick, unless you're going to get medical care. Avoid public transportation, taxis and ride-sharing if you're sick. Get a test and self-isolate until test result is known, if tested negative then you can leave self-isolation
2. If you have cold or flu-like symptoms get tested.
3. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water
4. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
5. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, throw away the used tissue, and regularly clean surfaces such as your computer keyboard, telephone and door handles to get rid of germs
6. Avoid sharing dishes, glasses, bedding and other household items if you're sick.
7. If concerned about your wellbeing or you have underlying health conditions consult with your GP.
8. Keep track of where you've been and who you've seen so we can use that for contact tracing if needed.
9. Stay vigilant
10. Be kind to others and yourself.

## **Travel**

* Onboard inspections of passengers on direct flights from Wuhan started from December 31, 2019. Airport personnel also started conducting fever screenings, smell tests and health assessments among arriving passengers. After a team of experts returned from an investigative mission to China in early January, Britain began required hospitals to test for and report cases related to the new virus. The Civil Aviation Authority urged British citizens to avoid visiting Wuhan
* On 24 January 2020, 2 days after the cases spread all across China, Britain closed its borders to China, its special administrative regions and Taiwan (with exceptions as documented below)
* On February 6, all foreign cruises were prohibited from docking in Britain.
* The British Government suspended visa waivers and issuing of visas from March 1 for 10 years, bringing a 10-year mortarium on immigration, only tourist visas were allowed.
* From 1 March 2020, short distance car travel is banned (5 miles). Anyone caught breaking this rule will receive a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) starting at £70 fine, although this is reduced to £35 if paid within 14 days. If you pay the fine within 28 days, you won’t be prosecuted for a criminal offence. If you don’t pay it, you might be prosecuted and have to go to court. Except to this is (1) leaving the house to avoid injury, illness or escape the risk of harm, (2) go to hospital in an emergency or visiting an emergency (attempting suicide or hurt themselves), (3) take your pet to the vet if it needs urgent treatment, (3) using your car to go to another destination that isn't your home, (4) delivering goods and supplies, (5) participation in family events (eg marriage, baptism, funeral etc), (6) moving house, (7) move to a friend’s house for several days to allow a “cooling-off” following arguments at home, (8) Work in people’s homes such as repairs and maintenance, (10) using a company car thus need it for work purposes (such as estate agent)
* All British borders were closed until 1 June 2022, with exceptions: (1) participation in family events involving a British or Irish citizen (eg marriage, baptism, funeral etc), (2) care of a British or Irish relative, (3) participation in a sporting, cultural or church event of 'importance', (4) partners, dependent children (aged 18 years and under) and legal guardians of British or Irish citizens, (5) maritime crew or pilots, as long as they follow COVID-19 rules.
* People can leave Britain if: (1) they are a foreigner/immigrant (non-British citizen) returning to their country of origin, (2) critical humanitarian travel (3) essential health workers, (4) participation in a sporting, cultural or church event of 'importance',
* Entry as a international student, for tourism or for transit purposes is banned. International students must instead return to their country of origin and use 'distance learning' software (online) such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Classroom (whatever the university intuition uses/allows).
* Entry for business purpose is also not permitted instead business visits can instead be done remotely
* Conferences (especially conferences involving many world leaders) can be done remotely
* Before heading to the airport, travellers have to provide their journey and contact details via an online passenger locator form. They must then ensure they have a copy of their filled in form at border control - this can be a digital or hard copy.
* Incoming travellers are prohibited from taking public transportation when leaving the airport and instead must take specially designated taxis or rental cars and ensure these are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected
* A “Quarantine System for Entry” for airline passengers went online on February 16. Passengers entering Britain can input their health information online prior to their flights or upon entry and later receive a health declaration pass to their cell phones upon arrival. The online system is meant to help passengers quickly clear immigration and border control. Travellers’ information from the Department of Immigration & Visas is integrated with the National Health Insurance Database as well as the tracking systems for the 14-day quarantine. Front-line health care workers can spot potential infection cases based on their patients’ travel history and symptoms and take immediate measures. Travellers arriving from high-risk countries have had their movements around the island individually tracked, with measures taken to prevent the spread of the virus to local communities
* Freight transport will continue as normal, crews of freight transport can enter Britain provided they do what's said above
* Anybody working in aviation industry can take a sabbatical leave (will still be under contract so they can continue work when available) and allowed to work elsewhere to ensure those working in aviation industry can work another job and get paid without the need to get paid from aviation industry
* Due to the lack of travel, many travel agency/groups in the Britain focus on tourism within Britain.

### **Red list country placement timeline (from 2021)**

* North Korea on January 1 indefinitely due to North Korea border being shut and all air and train routes into and out of North Korea were temporarily suspended
* Turkmenistan on January 1 indefinitely due to the Turkmenistan prohibiting tourists
* Honduras on January 1 due to a ban on foreign travellers
* Suriname on January 1 due to a them closing their borders
* Bhutan on January 1 due to a ban on foreign travellers
* Brunei on January 1 due to them only accepting people for essential reasons
* Kazakhstan on January 1 due to a ban on foreign travellers
* Iran on January 1 due to a ban on foreign travellers.
* Kuwait on January 1 due to a ban on foreign travellers.
* Malaysia on January 1 due to a ban on foreign travellers.
* Mongolia on January 1 due to a ban on foreign travellers.
* Myanmar on January 1 due to a ban on foreign travellers
* Benin on January 1 due to a ban on foreign travellers
* Cameroon on January 1 due to a ban on foreign travellers
* Libya on January 1 due to a ban on foreign travellers
* Madagascar closed its border on January 1
* Niger on January 1 due to a ban on foreign travellers
* Yemen on January 1 due to a ban on foreign travellers
* Tonga on January 1 until 8pm on 22 November 2021 due to Tonga's borders closed to entry to all foreign nationals
* USA on January 1 until May 1 due to concerns of the California variant as well as USA banning travellers from Britain.
* St Kitts and Nevis for 1 day (January 2) due to St. Kitts and Nevis has temporarily suspended flights from Britain
* Jordan on January 1 for 2 days (January 3) due to Jordan banning British travellers from entering Jordan
* Jamaica on January 1 for 3 days (January 4) due to Jamaica banning British travellers from entering Jamaica
* Paraguay on January 1 for 3 days (January 4) due to Paraguay banning British travellers from entering Paraguay
* Peru was on the red-list January 1 for 4 days (January 5) due to Peru suspending all flights from Europe for 2 weeks starting 22 December 2020.
* Sudan on January 1 for 4 days (January 5) due to Sudanese Civil Aviation Authority has announced they will be restricting air travel from the Britain, Netherlands and South Africa
* Canada on January 1 for 5 days (January 5) due to Canada suspending all inbound passenger flights from Britain
* Bolivia on January 1 until January 8 due to Bolivia banning British travellers from entering Bolivia
* Indonesia on January 1 until January 8 due to Indonesia banning British travellers from entering Indonesia
* Uzbekistan on January 1 until January 10 due to Uzbekistan announcing the British nations are not permitted to travel to or to enter Uzbekistan. All other foreign nationals, with the exception of Uzbek nationals, who are arriving from Britain or who have visited Britain in the last 14 days are not permitted to enter the country either during this period
* Seychelles on January 1 until the January 31 due to Seychelles announcing that Britain will no longer feature on the list of countries from which visitors may travel to Seychelles
* Turkey on January 1 until May 1 due to Turkey banning British nationals travelling by air to Turkey unless they possess Turkish residency permits and travel on Turkish air operators
* Hong Kong on January 1 until May 7 due to Hong Kong banning British travellers from entering Hong Kong, they would open the border to British travellers on May 5 starting from 7 May
* Saudi Arabia on January 1 until May 17 due to Saudi Arabia closing its border and banning foreign visits to the country
* Russia on January 1 until June 2 due to Russia banning flights from Britain. 14-day isolation was lifted (no longer required) from September 3
* Argentina on January 1 until November 1 due to Argentina closing its border and banning foreign visits to the country
* Israel on January 1 until November 1 due to Israel closing its border and banning foreign visits to the country
* New Zealand on January 1 until November 1 due to them closing their borders to almost all visitors
* Vietnam on January 1 until November 1 due to them not being open for tourism until that point
* Australia on January 1 until mid-2022 due to them closing their borders to almost all visitors
* South Africa on January 12 until February 15 due to South Africa variant and South Africa shutting its border thus banning foreign visits to the country
* Oman on January 18 until September 1 due to Oman shutting its border and banning foreign visits to the country
* All South America countries as well as Portugal and Cape Verde on January 15 until May 17 over concerns of a new Portuguese COVID variant which spread and became prevalent in South America resulting in many South America countries moving to Level 5 (highest level) and going into lockdown (the same happened in Portugal and Cape Verde)
* Philippines on March 20 until April 19 due to Philippines closing the border and banning foreign visits to the country
* Chile on April 5 due to Chile closing its border and banning foreign visits to the country
* Mauritian on October 1 due to Mauritian closing its border and banning foreign visits to the country
* India on April 27 until 30 November due to the India variant and huge uptake in cases, hospitalisations and deaths in India. India shut their border until 30 November thus banning foreign visits to the country
* Guatemala on April 17 until November 1 due to Guatemala banning British travellers from entering Guatemala
* All EEA member states on July 13 due to EU member states voting in agreement to block British travellers from entering the bloc for 28 days (4 weeks) due to no vaccine rollout as the EU implement COVID travel pass for all non-EU travel, with the ban being uplifted from both parties on 10 August.
* China on June 22 due to the Chinese border to remain closed and banning foreign visits to the country until second half of 2022
* City of Moscow in Russia due to them closing all non-essential services for 11 days from October 28 until November 7
* All EEA member states was placed back on 13 November because the EU would shut the border and impose a lockdown from 13 November until 30 April 2022
* Israel on 28 November after Israel banned foreigners (imposed a travel ban) from entering the country for 14 days and use surveillance to halt the spread of the new 'Botswana variant', they were removed from the red-list on 12 December.
* Starting from midnight 28 November; South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, Malawi were on the red list to halt the spread of the new 'Botswana variant',

## **Exercise Cygnus recommendation**

1. Exercise Cygnus revealed the need to develop a "Pandemic Concept of Operations" to bridge communication between organisations. This aims to manage collective response strategically by delegating specific roles to each organisation and directing their interactions during a pandemic. NHS England recognises that a variety of sectors are implicated, hence a central administration and unified protocol to oversee the whole strategy is required for organisations to work synonymously.
2. The need for more precise protocols was identified to guide health care providers at an operational level should there be a need to drastically step up local response. A suggestion was to implement planning at a regional level as opposed to through local resilience forums for crucial aspects of pandemic influenza response (e.g., excess death). This improves coordination across multiple agencies locally. Logistically, more health workers and resources such as ventilators, personal protective equipment (PPE) and hospital beds are required to face a large pandemic. Investigation also showed that the reverse triage strategy proposed by the NHS, whereby patients are moved from hospitals to social care, may not be well supported by the current social care system. This requires a high level of teamwork across several corporations, which was detailed through a provided framework but may not be viable under the pressure and widespread impact of a pandemic. Local resilience forums have announced that they depend on subject matter experts for more complicated aspects of pandemic response to implement responses These professionals do not belong to LRF but give detailed technical support to enable colleagues to comprehend different elements of the response. The Strategic Coordinating Group (SRG) structure is used by experts for holistic contribution. Doubts were raised if this method was sustainable in the case of a fast-moving pandemic, since experts would have to aid more than one SRG.
3. Exercise Cygnus was centred around assumptions of public responses that have yet to be validated. Expectations of how the public will react was postulated based on the magnitude of "swan flu". This may not have been entirely representative of what would have happened in real life. For example, Exercise Cygnus did not involve live broadcasting or widespread coverage which typically characterises an actual pandemic. Hence, its reactions are based around theoretical public reaction. This was identified and understood as a possible limitation to Exercise Cygnus, and the role of public opinion on pandemic response still requires further investigation. It was stated that in reality, moral decisions, such as those involving mass burials or population triage, may differ in face of public reaction. Further work is required to understand public reaction, so that it can be factored into significant decisions and communication strategies, particularly for ethically charged scenarios. Research into how public perception and response to a pandemic will further aid the trajectory of emergency strategies and how they can be communicated. In 2019, the Moral and Ethical Advisory Group (MEAG) was established to give unbiased guidance to government regarding controversial health issues.
4. Corporations are required to update their "Emergency Preparedness Resilience and Response training and exercising" for optimum performance
5. Expert advice from all stakeholders should be readily presented to SCGs for corresponding response. This should occur efficiently so multiple LRFs can benefit from this support.
6. Planning should occur on a national level, and take into account how local pandemic flu strategies can be operationalised in implementation.
7. The health tripartite (DH, NHS England and PHE) and Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) should have Cobra Meetings incorporated into flu response
8. More research needs to be done to investigate if population-based triage is viable during a critical, widespread influenza pandemic
9. More work is required to understand surge arrangements when the pandemic becomes overwhelming. NHS England should direct the operational side while DH should give management, guidance and policy direction with advice from the Four Nations CMO meeting.
10. DH should collaborate with partners to understand how antivirals may be used in a pandemic.
11. PHE and NHS England must cooperate to improve current community guidelines and deliver antivirals within restrictions stipulated by NHS Emergency Preparedness staff.
12. All corporations must be prepared for increased staff absence in the midst of a pandemic and make appropriate plans.
13. Pandemic plans need to be effectively communicated to public for reassurance, and the right amount of detail of disclosed information should be ascertained.
14. Steps to release information to public should be coordinated by DH, NHS England and PHE national teams together with Devolved Administrations
15. A variety of stakeholders needs to be involved during communication of the pandemic to public. Special care is needed in the realm of social media.
16. Cross-government efforts need to be conducted to avoid repetition and redundancy across departments.
17. Department of Education should investigate the impact of school closures on the wider community.
18. British Nationals residing overseas should be taken into account during an influenza.
19. Ministry of Defence should be required to assist in the worst case scenario.
20. The process and timeline of front line responders need to be made more precise.
21. A framework for analysing social care and surge capacity needs to be established.
22. The potential for increasing social care real-estate and staff numbers need to be examined.
23. Strategies to allocate voluntary resources during a pandemic need to be developed with advice from non-health departments.
24. Excess death management needs review.
25. Pandemic contingency plans and procedures as a whole require more development.

## **Medical responses**

### **Drug therapy and vaccine development**

On April 7, the announced that the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine had successfully cultured and isolated the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in the lab. Britain was also to be one of the first 4 countries in the world to successfully isolated and cultured this. The achievement would allow quicker test results for nCoV, meaning thousands of samples could be tested a day, said the institute. It would also serve as a basis for the development of a vaccine against the virus. It was said that the virus causing COVID-19 has evolved into many branches. 3 branches have been recorded in the world. Britain recorded and isolated 2 different virus branches, 1 from patients returning from Wuhan in February and the other from patients returning from Europe in March.

The method of extracting plasma from cured people to treat severe patients is also considered.

### **Re-positive**

Many COVID-19 cases reported positive tests after they were deemed to have recovered from the disease. This has happen in countries such as United States, South Korea and China. Dr. Oh Myoung-don, head of South Korea Central Clinical Committee for Emerging Disease Control rejected the possibility of "reinfection", assuming that the patients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 virus, most likely due to "the testing kit collected RNA from the dead virus fragments, these may remain in the body for months".

The Minister of Health also agreed with the above opinion, saying that maybe the patient has not fully recovered during the treatment process so the virus has not been completely eliminated and still exists in the body, especially in lung mucous cells. According to the Department of Infectious Disease at Imperial College London, these patients are less likely to spread the disease.

### **Testing kit**

As of 18 March 2020, Britain has produced at least two sets of COVID-19 test kits. On March 3, leader of the research team announced that they are completed the research and development of the SARS-CoV-2 detection kit, based on RT-PCR and realtime RT-PCR. 2 days later, the Government Office for Science and Techonlogy has announced the result of researching and manufacturing biological kit to detect novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) conducted by Defence Medical Academy and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

The kit has been tested for sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and repeatability at the lab of London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Defence Medical Academy. The results show that the criteria are equivalent to the kit produced by the CDC and the World Health Organization. Independent testing at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, evaluating on patient samples, compatible with 5 types of common devices in medical facilities in the country, gives 100% accurate results in all of the test. The kit detection time is about 2 hours. 20 countries have ordered the test kit. The first 4 countries to be received are Malaysia, Iran, Finland and Ukraine, as of March 17, 2020

Companies dissolved in Britain:

* Norwegian Air GB
* BuzzFeed Great Britain and Australia
* Deltic Group GB (which owns Oceana, Pryzm, Atik, Eden and Bar & Beyond). Kuda Bar & Club. Fiction and Cameo closed down. 60% of Britain's nightclubs closed. All LGBTQ+ bars and nightclubs in Britain also closed down too.

## **Alternative Britain response (if COVID cases were like real life)**

#### **Football**

* All leagues will end the season early and tables will be decided by adjusted PPG for Premier League, PPG weighted home and away from Championship down. Premier League table, Championship table, League One table, League Two table, National League table, National League North table and National League South table
* No teams will be relegated from Premier League, Championship and League Two, League One will have 1 relegation spot. Premier League will be increased to 24 teams for 2020-21 season, a team will play other 23 teams once and then play 11 'rival' matches for a total of 34 games. Championship will remain 24 but with a 38-game season (play other 23 teams once + 15 'rival' matches), League One to National League South & North will have 22 teams
* Leeds, WBA and Fulham all are promoted automatically to the Premier League with Brentford winning the playoffs to join them. Coventry, Rotherham and Oxford United all are promoted automatically to the Championship with Wycombe winning the playoffs to join them, Bolton Wanderers were relegated after finishing bottom according to PPG weighted for home and away. Swindon Town, Plymouth Argyle and Crewe were promoted to League 1 with Northampton Town winning the playoffs to join them. Barrow and playoff winners Harrogate Town were promoted to League 2. The playoffs of Football and National Leagues were expanded to feature 6 teams, higher ranked teams have home advantage in all matches, extra time and penalty shootout will be played.
* UCL final 3 rounds was played in July.
* 2020-21 season was played to no away fans and 40% capacity, no fans will sit in ends where the goals are.

#### **Rugby union**

* Gallagher Premiership was reduced to 20 rounds and playoffs were scrapped (current league position)
* The RFU Championship officially cancelled the season on 20 March 2020, after initially postponing all rugby in England including training from 17 March until 14 April 2020. As a result, Newcastle Falcons were declared champions for the season, and promoted to the Premiership on 2 April 2020 on the basis of a best playing record formula, having been undefeated and top of the table when the league was suspended, while Leeds Tykes were relegated to National League 1 at the bottom

#### **Rugby league**

* 2020 Magic Weekend was cancelled
* Super League rounds was reduced to 20 rounds, Toronto Wolfpack withdrew from the competition, Toronto announced they will not be returning to European rugby league system and will instead permanently join the North America Rugby League. There will be no relegations in the process
* Super League called an early halt to the regular season following further major disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic and bring forward a 6 team play-off series using points percentage
* 2020 Championship and League 1 season was cancelled and declared null and void due to many teams having part time squad and not 'financial viable' to continue without any fans and thus rejected continuing the season behind closed doors.
* Toulouse Olympique withdrew from Championship, and Catalan Dragons withdrew from Super League, and will both play in the 2021 French Elite One Championship to avoid travelling to England following travel restrictions between the 2 countries, making it unfeasible for both teams to host fixtures. Ottawa Aces and New York Freedom will both withdrew from European rugby league system and instead play in North America Rugby League, Hemel Stages returned to 2021 League 1.
* Super League expanded to 16 teams for 2021 playing 22 rounds + Magic Weekend (play other teams once = 15 games + 8 "rival" matches), with the team finishing bottom (16th) directly relegated, teams finishing 15th, 14th and 13th will play in "The Qualifier", the top 5 teams in the Championship will also play in "The Qualifier". The 13th placed SRL team hosts 14th winner stays in SRL loser advances to Week 2, 1st hosts 2nd from Championship in the Championship Grand Final winner is promoted to SRL, loser advances to Week 2. 3rd hosts 4th from Championship winner advances to Week 2 whilst the loser stays in Championship. 15th placed SRL team plays 5th place Championship team loser is in Championship, winner advances to Week 2. The winner of the 1st game of Week 2 plays the loser of the 2nd game of Week 2 in the £1m Game held at Bloomfield Road in Blackpool.
* Bradford Bulls, Leigh Centurions, York City Knights, London Broncos, Featherstone Rovers and Widnes Vikings were all promoted to the Super League.

## **Monkeypox**

* Gay pride parades in 2022 was cancelled
* Gay fetish event are banned
* Gay Orgies are banned
* Gay sex parties are banned
* Recommended that gay men refrain from having sex with other men
* People with monkeypox symptoms should not have sex