PEOPLE in England will be able to spend time inside one another’s homes and the 2 metre rule will be relaxed from July 4.
But Scotland and Wales have refused to follow the PM’s lead so far and have to adhere to stricter rules as lockdown eases in England.
The PM said today: “Life is returning to our streets and shops.
“After the toughest restrictions in peacetime history, we are now able to make life easier for people to see more of their friends and families and help businesses get back on their feet and get back to work.”
“But the virus has not gone away, there will be flare ups
“Today we can say our long national hibernation is beginning to come to our end and life is returning to our streets and our shops.”
“The bustle is starting to come back and a new but cautious optimism is palpable.”
Pubs, restaurants, nailbars and cinemas are all able to reopen.
People will be able to spend time – including going to a restaurant – with one other household at a time.
The PM has slashed the 2 metre rule, telling people to stay 1 metre away as long as they take other precautions including face coverings.
In a major update today, Boris announced:
- He was slashing the 2m rule down to ‘1m plus’
- Staycations from July 4 got the green light as hotels and bed and breakfasts were told they could reopen
- Pubs will also reopen from July 4 – but only one household can go inside with another and new measures will be in place
- After three long months Brits will finally be able to get a haircut
- But nail salons, gyms and nightclubs will remain closed for now
- People will be allowed to see one other household inside – but they must still keep their distance
- And sleepovers are finally allowed from July 4
- Full list of all businesses allowed to reopen
What are the rules in Scotland?
But Nicola Sturgeon has repeatedly stressed the need to take a slow approach to easing the lockdown.
In Scotland, people are allowed to meet up in groups of eight people outdoors and in private gardens.
But those groups shouldn’t consist of more than two households.
Ms Sturgeon announced last week they would be allowed to go inside one another’s homes to use the toilet – weeks after the PM said people in England could do the same thing.
She has also said people who are in single-adult households can form a “support bubble” with another household.
But outside of those support bubbles, people cannot go into one another’s homes.
She has also said she could push the date pubs are allowed to open because of fears they could be virus hotspots.
Non-essential retail in Scotland will be allowed to reopen at the end of this week, after those in England started welcome people back in on June 15.
All Scots have been told to stay local to their area, but the First Minister said she hopes to reopen tourism by July 15.
One of Ms Sturgeon’s top scientific advisers has suggested the current 2 metre rule could be changed in Scotland.
National Clinical Director Jason Leitch told BBC this morning: “I don’t think we are going to be physically distanced forever.
“We are going to learn to live with this infectious disease, like we live with tuberculosis and flu. I think physical distancing will change. I am just not entirely sure when.”
What can people in Wales do?
In Wales, people also have to follow stricter rules than across the border in England.
People can meet outside – but not with more than one household.
The Welsh Government has also put in guidance telling people to stay local – but new rules allow them to travel outside the five-mile radius of their home to check up on relatives “on compassionate grounds”.
That can include visiting loved ones in care homes if the homes give permission.
Schools in Wales have been told to prepare to reopen to pupils from all years from 29 June.
People have to maintain a 2 metre social distancing rule with people outside their household at all times in Wales.
First Minister Mark Drakeford has said that stay-local rules will stay in place until at least July 6.
He said: “I really understand that if you are just the other side of a border, you will feel that this is rough justice, and other people are being able to do things that you can’t.”
