Shops, restaurants, bars and a number of other non-essential businesses will reopen in England on Monday as the country continues its coronavirus vaccination efforts.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson disclosed the relaxed restrictions in a statement last week. Hairdressers, beauty and nail salons, gyms and spas are also among the non-essential retail locations that will be reopening.
Public buildings such as libraries and community centers, and outdoor settings and attractions, including zoos, theme parks, drive-in cinemas and drive-in performance events, are also allowed to reopen on Mondays.
Restaurants and bars are also allowed to reopen only for field service, without customers having to buy a substantial meal in addition to alcohol. In addition, curfews will be lifted at locations.
However, customers will still have to sit down while eating and drinking.
Outdoor gatherings will still be limited to six people or two households, and indoor gatherings are still prohibited with “someone you don’t live with or have not formed a support bubble with.”
According to Johnson, the country decided to move to the next phase of reopening after the data confirmed the government’s “four tests” needed to ease restrictions.
The review, the statement said, was based on the country’s vaccination program, showing that the vaccine is effective in reducing hospitalizations and deaths, infection rates that are not at risk of an increase in hospitalizations, and whether an “assessment of the risks. is not fundamentally changed by new Variants of Concern. “
The statement also noted that before relaxing restrictions, the government “was reviewing the latest data to assess the impact of the first step, which began when schools reopened on March 8th.”
Johnson, The Associated Press, previously promised to visit a pub for a pint to mark the reopening, but has since postponed the celebration following the death of Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II’s husband.
More than 27 million initial vaccine doses have been administered in England, according to the United Kingdom’s coronavirus website.
According to The New York Times, more than 4.3 million cases of coronavirus have been reported in the UK and more than 127,000 deaths have been confirmed.