What Lockdown 2 will mean for car parks, playgrounds and key services in Sunderland

Tight new restrictions are being introduced in England from midnight into Thursday November 5 as the Government aims to stem a rise in Covid-19 cases across the country, amid predictions deaths could soar and health services become overrun if action is not taken.

RELATED: 14 pictures of Sunderland city centre on the last day before second national COVID lockdown

Nonessential shops, pubs, restaurants, gyms and other businesses will be forced to close, and people will be barred from mixing with people will only be able to meet one other person from outside their household, and only outdoors.

Sunderland City Council has now set out which services it will continue to operate during the lockdown, which is due to last until at least December 2:

These are the services and facilities which will continue:

: Household waste and recycling collections continue to be collected as normal. Make sure you put your blue or green bin out on the right day.

:: Beach Street Household Waste and Recycling Centre (HWRC) and Campground remain open. Appointments can be booked online at sunderland.gov.uk

:: Bulky item waste collections are continuing, with online bookings at sunderland.gov.uk

:: Parks and playgrounds remain open, with people urged to remember social distancing and social bubbles

:: Car parks and public toilets remain open

:: Funeral services continue to be limited to 30 mourners and live streaming available

What will change:

• Weddings suspended until further notice

:: As per Government guidance, the Elephant Tea Rooms and Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens (including Central Library) and Customer Service Centre, Fawcett Street will close. People needing the latter can go online at sunderland.gov.uk or call 0191 555 5550

:: Libraries in Houghton and Washington will be open for click and collect only

:: Everyone Active Centres will also close in line with Government guidance and more information is available at everyoneactive.com

RELATED: The 15 Covid hotspots in and around Sunderland with the highest seven-day case rates as Lockdown 2 nears

Sunderland City Council leader Councillor Graeme Miller said: "The council oversees hundreds of city services from household waste and recycling collections at more than 120,000 properties, to libraries, and highways maintenance.

"I should like to stress that, while we may have had to make some changes, many key services continued to run during the first period of lockdown earlier this year and they will run and function during this lockdown.

"Council staff have continued working closely with an army of volunteers and our health partners to tackle Covid and support the NHS, and staff continue to do so.

"Our teams continued to collect waste and recycling materials, others administered new Government grants or helped with advice and monitoring to make our city more Covid secure, and many others who might not have been so visible have helped keep Sunderland up and running during recent months.

"I would like to thank residents and businesses for their hard work in recent months and urge everyone to keep on playing their part in fighting Covid."

More information is available on services during the lockdown at sunderland.gov.uk

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