The Winter Covid-19 Plan and its Impact on Musicians

Yesterday the Prime Minister confirmed that national restrictions in England will come to an end on 2 December and the country will return to a three ‘tiered’ system.

We have published the full details on how we understand these changes will affect musicians, on our latest restrictions page – although we are still waiting for clarification on a number of points.

In summary, the changes in England will mean that:

• Shops, gyms, personal care, and leisure may reopen across all tiers.
• Collective worship, weddings and outdoor sports may resume.
• The ‘rule of 6’ will apply again.
• The hospitality curfew has been modified to last orders at 10:00 pm and closing time at 11:00 pm.
• In tiers 1 and 2, spectator sport can resume with capacity limits and social distancing.
• In tier 2, alcohol may only be served in hospitality settings as part of a substantial meal.
• In tier 3, hospitality will close except for delivery and takeaway, and indoor entertainment venues, such as cinemas, casinos and bowling alleys, must also close.

The Government will announce which tier will apply to each area on Thursday this week. In the meantime, the MU is gathering as much advice as possible for members so that they can plan any future work in line with the new restrictions, which are expected to last until Spring 2021.

Please note that we are still waiting for Government confirmation on a few issues and we will add to the advice as and when we received further information.

Read our advice on the latest Covid-19 restictions and how they will affect musicians in England, as well as the current restrictions on Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.