CASINOS, bowling alleys and ice skating rinks will be told in days if they can finally reopen.
Boris Johnson slammed the breaks on plans to open the venues at the end of July after a spike in coronavirus cases.
However, No10 is expected to announce whether it is safe for the businesses to throw open their doors once again on Friday.
Beauty salons will also be told if they can start close-contact treatments such as eyebrow waxing and facials.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said today: “When we paused that section of the roadmap, I think we said it was until the end of this week at the earliest.
“We will continue to review the data and at the end of this week we will set out a decision on whether or not we are able to go ahead with the opening of those remaining sectors of the economy.”
Ministers will meet on Thursday to discuss changes to the rules with a decision expected to come the following day, the Mirror reports.
Weddings may also be part of the discussion – with ceremonies of up to 30 people banned during the PM’s announcement last month.
Services are currently still allowed, as long as social distancing guidelines are adhered to, but couples are limited on how many guests they can have on their big day.
Sports stadiums are expected to be reopened in some capacity by October while nightclubs must remain closed.
SLAMMED ON THE BREAKS
Speaking at the time, the PM halted the lockdown easing because he wouldn’t “stand by and allow the virus to cause more pain and heartache in this country”.
Making reference to the rising infection rate, Mr Johnson said Brits needed to remain vigilant, saying: “With those numbers creeping up, our assessment is that we should now squeeze that brake pedal in order to keep the virus under control.
“We must keep our focus and we can’t be complacent.”
Since then there have been a number of local lockdowns after spikes in covid-19 infections.
Rules were enforced for households in Leicester, Greater Manchester, Preston, parts of east Lancashire and West Yorkshire.
But while business owners are desperate to re-open the PM is currently focusing on school’s reopening next month September, describing it as a “moral duty” to ensure pupils return to class.
Speaking during a visit to a school in East London today, Mr Johnson said: “It’s not right that kids should spend more time out of school, it’s much much better for their health and mental wellbeing, obviously their educational prospects, if everybody comes back to school full-time in September.
“It’s our moral duty as a country to make sure that happens.”
