Pubs, hairdressers and cinemas will only reopen if UK passes five tests
THE Government has revealed that pubs, hairdressers and cinemas will only be allowed to reopen once the UK passes five tests.
The businesses were all forced to close in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, but work is now underway to help them safely reopen.
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The Government has confirmed Dominic Raab's announcement that pubs, restaurants and hairdressers will not open until July 4 at "the earliest".
It means those hoping for a visit will have to wait until the final stage of the Government's new three-phase plan.
This will be subject to passing the five tests listed below, the Government said in its 50-page plan today.
To accomplish it, they also revealed new Covid-19 secure guidelines.
What are the five tests?
THE UK needs to pass the below tests before lockdown measures are eased.
- NHS capacity to provide critical care and specialist treatment
- Sustained and consistent fall in daily deaths
- Rate of infection decreasing to manageable levels
- Enough testing and PPE capacity to be able to meet future demand
- Confident a change in lockdown measures won't spark a second wave of coronavirus cases
These mean that venues, including cinemas, hairdressers and pubs, must ensure that:
- Individuals are able to keep their distance from people outside of their households,
- They're reducing the risk of transmission by limiting the number of people that individuals come into contact with,
- Changing shift patterns to reduce the number of people at work at one time,
- Workspaces should be well-ventilated
To safely reopen pubs, cinemas and hairdressers, the Government will introduce pilot reopenings in order to test the social distancing guidelines.
Venues that are naturally crowded and where it would be hard to practice social distancing will have to remain closed until it's safe enough to reopen them.
Ministers have previously feared that hairdressers will have to remain shut for six more months, as scientists have found no safe way for salons to reopen.
Today's plan by the Government also revealed the rules workplaces will have to follow when staff go back to offices.
It also specifies guidelines for non-essential shops if they want to reopen in June.
Under the changes, businesses including food prep and construction can now go back to work.
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Boris Johnson last night laid out the "first careful steps" of easing the coronavirus lockdown as part of a three-phase plan to get back to normal life.
In an address to the nation he revealed a detailed roadmap of how to get Britain back on its feet, but still keep the deadly virus under control.
Under the changes, holidaymakers may have to take extra two weeks holiday from work if they travel abroad.
Businesses that must remain closed
WHILE the Government is encouraging some to return to work, it says the following businesses and venues are required by law to stay closed to the public:
- Restaurants and cafes, other than for takeaway
- Pubs, cinemas, theatres and nightclubs
- Clothing and electronics stores; hair, beauty and nail salons; and outdoor and indoor markets not selling food
- Libraries, community centres, and youth centres
- Indoor and outdoor leisure facilities such as bowling alleys, gyms, arcades and soft play facilities - although outdoor sports facilities, such as tennis and basketball courts, golf courses and bowling greens, will be allowed to reopen from May 13
- Some communal places within parks, such as playgrounds and outdoor gyms
- Places of worship (except for funerals)
- Hotels, hostels, bed and breakfasts, campsites, caravan parks, and boarding houses for commercial/leisure use, excluding use by those who live in them permanently, those who are unable to return home and critical workers where they need to for work
Food retailers, food markets, and hardware stores can remain open, while garden centres and certain other retailers can reopen from May 13.