England has begun its second nationwide lockdown on Thursday, despite a bruising vote the previous day in which Boris Johnson’s coronavirus disease strategy was rejected by dozens of his own MPs.

The second national lockdown comes eight months after the country first went into a lockdown due to the pandemic.

This time, measures have been put in place to stop the situation becoming even worse than in the first peak.

The Prime Minister on Monday warned there was “no alternative” as figures predicted that if further action wasn’t taken, there would be more Covid deaths seen this time around.

Boris Johnson first announced the stringent measure on Saturday night, with a successful vote in favour of the lockdown by MPs on Wednesday.

The lockdown came into effect at 0.01am on Thursday, November 5 and will end on December 2.

Non-essential services and businesses have been forced to close, including pubs and restaurants while essential shops and educational settings remain open.