Pubs, cinemas, restaurants and holiday accommodation in England will all be able to open from July 4 if they are “Covid-secure” under plans announced by Boris Johnson.
The prime minister is also relaxing coronavirus social distancing rules to allow a “one metre-plus” distance, with mitigations like face coverings or hand-washing when two metres is not possible, for example in indoor venues like cafes.
Johnson has also announced plans to allow one household to meet another indoors while following social distancing guidance, with no limits on size and overnight stays allowed.
This will not be exclusive, so for example a household can meet one set of grandparents one day, and another set of grandparents on another occasion.
Current rules on being allowed to meet up to six different individuals in your back garden or park will be changed to allow two households of any size to meet outdoors.
Only two households will be able to meet indoors at venues like restaurants and pubs.
Indoor hospitality will also be limited to table service, while customers will have to provide contact details to enable the tracing and isolating of people if there is an outbreak linked to the venue.
Gyms and leisure facilities will stay closed for now although culture secretary Oliver Dowden said the government had an “aspiration” to open them by mid-July.
A swathe of businesses will open under the biggest relaxation of lockdown since it was imposed three months ago, with government guidance replacing the draconian legislation that dictated the terms of the lockdown.
But there will be a review of all new rules on July 21 and if virus starts spreading exponentially the government will slam on the brakes.
Here is the full list of what can and can’t open.
Open from July 4:
Hotels, hostels, bed and breakfast accommodation, holiday apartments or homes, cottages or bungalows, campsites, caravan parks or boarding houses
Places of worship
Libraries
Community centres
Restaurants, cafes and work canteens
Bars
Pubs
Cinemas
Bingo halls
Theatres and concert halls (guidance dictates no live performances)
Museums and galleries
Hair salons and barbers
Outdoor playgrounds
Outdoor gyms
Funfairs, theme parks and adventure parks and activities
Amusement arcades
Outdoor skating rinks
Other indoor leisure centres or facilities, including indoor games, recreation and entertainment venues
Social clubs
Model villages
Indoor attractions at aquariums, zoos, safari parks, farms, wildlife centres and any place where animals are exhibited to the public as an attraction
The following will remain closed by law:
Nightclubs
Casinos
Bowling alleys and indoor skating rinks
Indoor play areas including soft-play
Spas
Nail bars and beauty salons
Massage, tattoo and piercing parlours
Indoor fitness and dance studios, and indoor gyms and sports venues/facilities
Swimming pools and water parks
Exhibition or conference centres - where they are to be used for exhibitions or conferences, other than for those who work for that venue