Boris Johnson insisted on Saturday he had no choice but to impose a second national lockdown to save tens of thousands of lives in the second wave of coronavirus. From one minute past midnight on Thursday, the whole of England will be plunged into the harshest measures since the original lockdown in the spring, subject to a vote in Parliament on Wednesday. The new rules will apply until at least December 2, when the regional tiering system is expected to return. Areas will be placed into Tiers 1, 2 or 3 depending on the prevalence of the virus locally at that point. The overall package announced by Mr Johnson puts Britain into one of the toughest lockdown regimes in Europe, and is almost as harsh as the measures imposed in March, with the biggest difference being that schools will remain open. Household mixing, overnight stays and support bubbles Just as in March, households will no longer be allowed to mix indoors, with the exception of the current support bubbles which allow one other person, such as an elderly relative, to visit. People will only be able to leave their homes for education, exercise, to buy essentials such as food and medicines, to go to work if they cannot work from home and for medical reasons. Meetings of more than one household in gardens are banned. Children will be allowed to move between households if their parents are divorced or separated. Overnight stays will be banned. It means that the “rule of six” no longer applies and until December 2 the only time households can mix is if you exercise outdoors with one person from another household, meaning dog walking with a friend is allowed if social distancing is maintained.