SHAGGY-haired Brits will be able to get a professional cut from July 4 after weeks of DIY disasters.
Boris Johnson will this week announce that hairdressers and barber shops will be allowed to open from that date.
It will bring cheer to the nation’s 33,000 stylists and beauticians, many of them self-employed.
It will also boost the morale of millions in desperate need of grooming after 13 weeks lockdown.
Desperate couples have been forced to carry out calamitous clipper jobs on each other’s hair, often resulting in bitter rows.
But the PM will give hairdressers the go-ahead this week when he ditches the two-metre social distancing rule. He is also expected to announce further easing of restrictions which will make July 4 “independence day” for many dormant businesses.
Pubs, restaurants, cafes and hotels will also be in line for reopening under strict guidelines. It will mean:
- Street bars and restaurants springing up everywhere under new laws giving pubs and restaurants the right to serve alcohol outdoors;
- A ban on self-service buffets and breakfasts in hotels — with waiters leaving room service orders outside room doors;
- Beer gardens patrolled to enforce the new social distancing limit – expected to be one metre;
- Pubs will be encouraged to use a new app to cut queues at the bar. Customers will download it to order drinks on their phones which will then be delivered to tables;
- Restaurant tables not being set in advance to avoid infection.
Hair stylists feared they would be shut for at least six months after experts initially warned it was impossible to cut hair without the risk of spreading coronavirus.
But scientists have now ruled it will be safe for salons to resume providing they stick to guidelines.
All hairdressers will be required to wear full-face plastic visors to reduce the risk of infection.
There will also be strict rules about disinfecting equipment.
Customers will only be allowed in by appointment and there will be a limit on numbers.
Officials are also weighing up whether to allow beauty salons and nail bars to open on July 4. Downing Street on Saturday said no formal decision has been made on whether to allow hairdressers to re-open.
But a Whitehall source said: “There’ll be a big rush to get an appointment when this is formally announced. It won’t be back to normal. But it’s an important step out of lockdown.” Mr Johnson has been convinced he can safely cut the two-metre limit after talks with ministers and scientists.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has warned millions of jobs are on the line if the hospitality sector is not re-opened soon.
He said on Saturday the review of the two-metre rule will “make an enormous difference” to businesses.
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