British Prime Minister Boris Johnson details which lockdown restrictions will be eased from July 4 in order to help businesses and families get back on their feet. Video / AP
Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, has announced that the long lockdown in the UK is to be eased, with social distancing rules relaxed and various sectors of the economy, including pubs, restaurants and galleries, reopening.
The controversial two-metre rule will be replaced with a "one-metre plus" rule from July 4, Johnson confirmed.
The move will enable pubs, restaurants, cinemas and other businesses to be run profitably when they are allowed to reopen on the same day, and will change the way in which schools, shops, transport and workplaces can operate.
Johnson told MPs the rate of infection in the community – as opposed to hospitals and care homes – is now low enough to relax the social distancing rule as long as steps are taken to mitigate the risk of people being closer together.
Face coverings will be needed in some indoor locations, perspex screens could be used between tables in restaurants and al fresco dining will be encouraged to minimise the risk of transmission.
A Downing Street spokesman said: "After a long period of asking the public to follow very strict and complex rules, the Government believes we are now in a position to enable people to see more of their friends and family.
"The infection rate has fallen significantly in the first half of June. Only one in 1700 people have the virus, compared with an average of one in 400 a month ago.
"Where it is not possible to stay two metres apart, people are advised instead to keep one metre plus apart – meaning one metre apart plus mitigation.
"For instance, on public transport that might mean one metre plus wearing a face covering. In other spaces, the mitigations could include screens, facing away from each other, hand-washing, minimising time spent with people and being outdoors.
"Having such mitigations in place at one metre can have a broadly equivalent impact as two metres without them."
Boris Johnson waits in line in the playground to wash his hands during a visit to Bovingdon Primary School in Bovingdon on June 19. AP Photo / Steve Parsons, pool
Johnson said: "Today, we can say that our long national hibernation is beginning to come to an end, and life is returning to our streets and to our shops. The bustle is starting to come back, and new but cautious optimism is palpable.
"But I must say to the House it will be all too easy for that frost to return. And that is why we will continue to trust in the common sense and the community spirit of the British people to follow this guidance, to carry us through, and to see us to victory over this virus."
Families will be allowed to meet groups of relations or friends indoors for the first time since lockdown began – but there will be a ban on hugging or touching.
From July 4, any two households can meet together under the same roof, and even stay overnight, as long as they observe social distancing. That means families could invite one set of grandparents over for lunch and then see the other set of grandparents for dinner, as long as they are not there at the same time.
The new rule also allows any two households to meet up in a pub, restaurant, museum or cinema, or even go on holiday together. There will be no limit on how many people can gather, as long as no more than two households are meeting at the same time.
The Government decided against an alternative plan to allow two entire households to form one "social bubble", partly because it would have forced families to choose which set of relations they could see.
Existing rules allowing up to six people from up to six different households to meet outdoors remain in place, as does the rule that allows someone living alone to join a "support bubble" (see below) with another household and be treated as if they live in the same home.
Downing Street admitted people would need to show a lot of discipline and restraint to adhere to the new rules, such as preventing children from hugging grandparents, but stressed that the changes would be swiftly reversed if coronavirus started to spread again.
A Number 10 spokesman said: "Your household will be able to link with one other household at a time, which includes staying over at someone's house.
"This is not a bubble because households should continue to remain socially distant from one another when they are indoors or outdoors, so they will need to stay two metres apart or follow the new one-metre plus advice."
Johnson said he trusted in "the common sense of the British people" to make the new rules work.
Hotels, pubs and restaurants will be allowed to reopen from July 4, but customers will be banned from propping up the bar and will have to register their contact details before entering.
As part of the latest round of easing, the Government will allow hospitality businesses, including cafes and bars, to restart under the "one-metre plus" rule.
This will allow customers to sit closer together in venues in which it is not possible for them to be two metres apart, so long as there are additional "mitigating" measures in place.
New safety guidance, due to be issued later, will set out a "menu of options" for hospitality bosses to use as part of the new system.
These include more back-to-back seating, perspex screens, partitions between tables, disposable menus and more cleaning of commonly touched surface areas.
Visitors face the direction of the rising sun next to the closed Stonehenge to celebrate the dawn of the longest day of the year, the Summer Solstice. AP Photo / Ben Birchall, PA
Waiters will be required to wipe down surfaces more often and collect glasses and plates more frequently. People will be discouraged from returning their glass or ordering from the bar, with more table service and mobile apps expected to be introduced.
The changes will also place limits on the number of people who can sit together indoors in pubs and restaurants, with just two households of any size permitted to drink or eat together.
To assist the Test and Trace system, customers will be required to register their details with a venue before entry.
While details are still being finalised, this is likely to either require signing up online, using an app beforehand or giving your details at the door.
Hairdressing salons will be able to reopen, but the experience of getting your hair cut is likely to be very different.
Hairdressers will be required to wear a full-face plastic visor to reduce the risk of infection and will also need to follow strict rules over the disinfecting of equipment.
Customers will have to make appointments, and there will be limits on the amount of people in salons. It is also anticipated that hairstylists will be told to cut down on small talk.
Beauty salons will not be allowed to reopen yet as it is believed it will be more difficult to mitigate the risk of transmission.
As of July 4, hotels, holiday apartments, caravan parks and campsites will be allowed to operate as long as shared facilities are kept clean. So will cinemas, arcades and theme parks, but swimming pools and spas "need to remain closed for now".
The national anthem is played in the paddock before the Silver Wokingham Handicap race during day five of Royal Ascot on June 20. AP Photo / Edward Whitaker, PA
The message to tourists from Johnson was clear as he announced that hotels, guest houses and B&Bs will be able to open in England. "Show some guts!" he told holidaymakers during his statement to the Commons.
But the mass reopening will come with a number of conditions attached.
Recommendations to stop coronavirus from spreading include emptying mini bars, offering buffet-free breakfasts and regularly deep cleaning rooms, with 24 hours left between bookings.
All paperwork is likely to be removed from rooms, along with the telephone, while the plastic pouch containing tea and coffee sachets will either be removed or quarantined for up to 72 hours between guests.
Those checking in should expect to see social distancing stickers on the floor, perspex screens at the reception desk and hand sanitiser available throughout.
Which British businesses will 'for now' remain closed?
Swimming pools and water parks Spas Nightclubs Casinos Bowling alleys and indoor skating rinks Indoor play areas including soft-play Nail bars and beauty salons Indoor fitness and dance studios, and indoor gyms and sports venues/facilities Exhibition or conference centres
From July 4, provided they are Covid-19 compliant:
Restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs Cinemas and bingo halls Theatres and concert halls Museums and galleries Outdoor playgrounds, gyms, and skating rinks Funfairs, theme parks and adventure parks and amusement arcades Model villages Aquariums, zoos, safari parks, farms, wildlife centres and any place where animals are exhibited as an attraction.
