The PM appeared in the House of Commons where he set out plans to allow pubs, restaurants, hotels, museums, hairdressers and cinemas to begin reopening on July 4, dubbed by some MPs as ‘Super Saturday’.
He told MPs that given the ‘significant fall in the prevalence of the virus’ the two-metre social distancing rule can be cut to ‘one metre plus’. He said:
‘Where it is possible to keep two metres apart you should, where it is not, people should keep a distance of one metre plus.’
One metre plus means that in circumstances where two metres cannot be kept, there should be other mitigating factors. This includes wearing a face mask on public transport, hand washing, screens, limiting time with people and being outdoors.
Boris Johnson has faced pressure from backbenchers who have said easing the two metre requirement is key to reopening the hard pressed hospitality sector.
Many pubs and restaurants have warned that it would simply not be viable for them to operate as long as the rule remains in place.
Boris Johnson said reducing the two-metre rule would allow the vast majority of businesses in the hospitality sector to reopen. He added that a keenly-awaited government review of this measure will be published later this week.
The PM said that from July 4, people will also be allowed to meet with one other household at a time indoors, subject to social distancing. He said the meet-ups do not always have to be with the same household – but that only one household can meet one other at any time.
These measures are not the same as the household bubble where distancing is not required, meaning family members who live apart can still not hug. ‘We cannot lift all the restrictions at once’ the PM said. ‘The fewer social contacts you have the safer you will be.’
However, he said people would be free ‘to stay overnight in self-contained accommodation’, including hotels, bed and breakfasts and camp sites, from July 4.
He added that shared facilities must be kept clean and no more than two households can go away together at a time. Mr Johnson warned that the easing of restrictions were conditional and could be reversed if the virus started to flare up again.
He said: ‘Our long national hibernation is coming to an end and life is returning to the streets. ‘But it would be all too easy for that frost to return.’ Some scientists have expressed concern the government is moving too quickly, and that its track-and-trace system to contain any fresh outbreaks is not fully up and running.
Professor of health psychology at the University of Bristol and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), Lucy Yardley, told BBC Newsnight there was a ‘danger’ that some people thought lockdown had ended.
Professor Yardley said ‘you could argue that we were never so much listening to the government as doing what we thought was right at the right time’ and added it ‘would be much harder’ to impose lockdown for a second time.
The PM hinted at what this could look like in his commons statement today as he confirmed pubs and hairdressers could reopen. He said:
‘And almost as eagerly awaited as a pint will be a haircut (particularly by me, Mr Speaker), and so we will reopen hairdressers with appropriate precautions, including the use of visors.‘
‘We also intend to allow some other close contact services, such as nail bars, to reopen as soon as we can when we are confident they can operate
It is likely arts and culture venues will have to operate with one-way systems, spaced queuing, increased ventilation, and pre-booked tickets to ensure people can return safely.
Ministers have also suggested installing perspex screens, altering seating arrangements and requiring the wearing of face coverings to mitigate the risk of spreading the disease as the rules are eased.
Customers at pubs and bars may have to sign guest books with their names and contact details so they could be traced if they come into contact with someone who is infected.
Source: Metro
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Your Views are needed.Thanks!