The next stage of lockdown easing will take place on 12 April as planned, with non-essential retail, outdoor hospitality, gyms and hairdressers, among the businesses given the green light to reopen.
In his address to the nation last night, Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed that the roadmap for lifting Covid restrictions was on track and that the government’s ‘four tests’ (relating to vaccinations numbers, vaccine effectiveness, rates of infections, and new variants) had been met.
Importantly, he cautioned that the strict rules on social distancing still applied. Indoor settings, such as shops, can only be visited alone or with household groups. While outdoor settings are limited to either six people or two household groups.
All shops in Wales will also be able to open from 12 April, as previously announced by the Welsh Government.
Homeware stores and garden centres have already reopened in Scotland, where the ‘Stay at home’ order has been replaced by a ‘Stay local’ rule. Non-essential click-and-collect services have also restarted.
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