Breaking News: PMs Announcement for lockdown easing on 4th July 2020:

Today Boris Johnson announced the plans to ease lockdown further which will take effect on 4th July 2020. He stated that the measures can be reversed and will be reversed if there is evidence that measures are no longer safe, and this will inevitably be something they keep under review. The Prime Minister has advised that where you can minimise contact you should do so as this will prevent a second peak. He said and we quote: “There is one certainty: the fewer social contacts you have, the safer you will be.” This is not an end to lockdown and the virus is still in circulation, but in a bid to restart the economy and get Britain moving, the relaxation of lockdown measures have been detailed in a long-awaited announcement for many, but sadly not all!

So, what are those changes?

A summary of the announcement is as follows:

·       The most crucial is that the public will now be invited to follow Government Guidance and not legislation on social contact. Therefore, the powers to enforce the Guidance appears to have been retracted.

·       The 2m rule will be relaxed to 1m whilst taking mitigations to reduce the risk of transmission. The Government stated that they will be releasing guidance on ways of mitigating the risks of transmission, but examples given by Mr Johnson included avoiding face-to-face seating, reducing the number of people in enclosed spaces, improving ventilation, using PPE, providing hand sanitiser, closing non-essential social spaces, changing shift patterns, and finally face masks. 

·       Two household of any size can meet inside or outside. The households do not always need to be the same household, and you can meet as many other households as you like, but not at the same time. 

·       The guidance on groups of six meeting outside remains unchanged albeit with the caveat of two mixing households of any size.

·       Restaurants and pubs can reopen and will be limited to table service opening to reduce contact. In this regard business will be encouraged to help the NHS with test and trace, we suspect that this may mean restaurants ask for data so that customers can be contacted in the event a customer has tested positive for COVID-19.

·       Hairdressers can reopen with appropriate precautions such as the use of visors, however, as anticipated, other close contact services such as nail bars are not eligible for reopening under this announcement although Mr Johnson stated those services would be allowed open as soon as he believes it is safe to do so. This will of come as a shock to many beauticians, masseurs and nail technicians who were of the view they would be eligible to return to work. 

·       Hotels, Bed & Breakfast and Campsites can re-open provided that no more than two households stay together and shared facilities are kept clean. 

·       Most leisure facilities and tourist attractions will reopen if they can do so safely, including outdoor gyms and playgrounds, cinemas, museums, galleries, theme parks and arcades, as well as libraries, social clubs and community centres.

·       However, venues such as nightclubs, soft-play areas, indoor gyms, swimming pools and spas will need to remain closed for now, as will bowling alleys and water parks. Although the PM stated that research was being carried out to open these as quickly as can be in  a safe manner. 

·       Recreation and sport will be allowed, but indoor facilities, including changing rooms and courts, will remain closed

·       Places of worship will be able to reopen for prayer and services – including weddings with a maximum of 30 people all subject to social distancing.

·       A great announcement for our founder at Legally Blogged -  courts, probation services, police stations and other public services will increasingly resume face-to-face proceedings

·       Wrap-around care for school age children and formal childcare will restart over the summer. Primary and secondary education will recommence in September with full attendance and those children who can already go to school should do so – because it is safe.

The full announcement can be found here