The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson mentioned on Tuesday that the pubs, hotels and restaurants can reopen in England early next month when the coronavirus or COVID-19 social distancing rule gets relaxed.
Britain's economy has faced the brunt of the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus and although he non-essential retailers had the permission to reopen last week, many of the businesses, particularly in the hospitality and leisure sectors, have kept closed.
UK Relaxes COVID-19 Restrictions
By relaxing the rule on social distancing from two meters to one meter as long as they took mitigation such as wearing of masks and the use of protective screens, Johnson said many businesses could reopen from July 4. "Given the significant fall in the prevalence of the virus we can change the two-meter social distancing rule from the 4th of July," Johnson told parliament.
The changes will allow two households to meet in any setting, hairdressers can reopen along with places of worship, most leisure facilities and tourist attractions such as theme parks. However, nightclubs, indoor gyms and swimming pools will stay closed. He said not all restrictions could be lifted at once and people would need to remain vigilant and use common sense.
Britain has one of the highest death tolls in the world from COVID-19, but the number of cases has been steadily falling in recent weeks. Health officials on Monday reported 15 new deaths, the lowest rise since mid-March. The daily tally of deaths peaked in April when the toll exceeded 1,000 on nine days.
(With agency inputs)
