BORIS Johnson has confirmed a raft of new measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus which will last for the next six months. 

The Prime Minister told MPs in the House of Commons this afternoon that the country had reached a "perilous" turning point in its battle against Covid-19.

It came after the alert level for Covid-19 was raised yesterday from three to four, as recommended by the four Chief Medical Officers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Prime Minister has confirmed those who can work from home in England are now required to do so from today, and people should only go into the office if they are Covid-secure and they cannot perform their job at home.

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Amendments to opening hours for hospitality, leisure and tourism businesses are also set to be brought in from midnight on Thursday, forcing them to close between 10pm and 5am. Takeaways will also be included in this, however customers will still be able to order meals for delivery to their homes after 10pm. 

Restaurants and pubs must legally provide table service to customers, to prevent people standing at the bar.

From Monday, the number of people who can attend weddings will also be reduced to just 15, from 30 people.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said earlier that while the measures were only applicable in England, the public should expect to see similar rules announced by the devolved governments later today.

He said: "Broadly you will see the four parts of the United Kingdom travelling in the same direction in terms of introducing new restrictions on other sectors to deal with the second wave of coronavirus.

"There will be some distinctions in the guidance, which will reflect local data, and the nature of the outbreaks in different parts of the United Kingdom, but there was a broad agreement on working closely together in confronting what everybody acknowledges will be a difficult winter." 

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Boris Johnson confirmed that socially-distanced sporting events, due to begin on October 1, will not resume and added that people working as taxi drivers, and in hospitality and retail, must wear face coverings. 

He added that fines and enforcement for people failing to comply with the rules will be increased to £200 for a first offence, and the £10,000 fine for repeated rule-breakers will also now apply to businesses failing to follow the rules.

He explained: "We will provide the police and local authorities with the extra funding they need."

He said there would be a "greater police presence on our streets" and the military could be drafted in to "free up the police" if needed.

Mr Johnson said: "The measures I have announced all apply in England. The devolved administrations are taking similar steps, I spoke yesterday with each of the first ministers and again today, and I thank them for their collaboration." 

The Prime Minister confirmed the measures are to last for the next six months, which would lead up to March 2021 - exactly a year since the first national lockdown was introduced.

He continued: "Unless we palpably make progress we should assume that the restrictions will remain in place for perhaps six months. For the time being, this virus is a fact of our lives."