The next phase of the lifting of lockdown sees the following changes to the national restrictions today:
Indoor hospitality can reopen and indoor entertainment can resume, including cinemas, museums, and children’s play areas.
Up to 6 people or 2 households can meet indoors and up to 30 people outdoors.
Outdoor entertainment can reopen, including outdoor cinemas and performances. Conferences, theatre and concert performances, and sports events, but numbers will be restricted.
Close contact, such as hugging, with friends and family. Its important to check with the people you are meeting that they are comfortable with this first.
COVID-secure rules remain for the workplace and businesses, such as in shops and hospitality.
International travel can begin to safely, allowing people to go on foreign holidays to ‘green’ list countries. Strict border control measures will remain in place, including pre-departure tests and a PCR test on or before day two of their arrival back in the UK.
Face coverings will no longer be needed in classrooms or for students in communal areas in secondary schools and colleges. Twice weekly home testing will remain to control infection rates.
University students can return to in-person teaching and learning and should get tested twice a week upon return.
Up to 30 people will now be able to attend weddings, receptions, and commemorative events including wakes, as well as standalone life-cycle events.
The number of people able to attend a funeral will be determined by the number that can be safely accommodated in the venue with social distancing in place.
30 people will be able to attend a support group or parent and child group. Children under 5 will not be included in the numbers.
Organised adult sport and exercise classes can resume indoors and saunas and steam rooms may reopen.
Care homes residents will be able to have up to five named visitors. Two visitors able to attend at once provided they are tested and follow infection control measures.
Care home residents will be able to leave the care home without having to self isolate for 14 days upon return.
Whilst it is great news that many of our sectors who have remained closed for months can now finally re-open in some form, we must remain vigilant whilst mixing with people to ensure that we do not see a sharp rise in the number of cases. There is still significant concern that new variants, such as the Indian variant, will cause a new spike in cases and possibly deaths from Covid-19. If we are all cautious within the new guidelines, we can hope for a further easing of lockdown restrictions in June.
More details on all restrictions can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus