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Brits will be allowed to meet more pals outside to socialise and play sport in first stage of Covid lockdown easing
BRITS will be allowed to socialise with pals outside and play sport in the first stage of the easing of the Covid lockdown, according to reports.
Open-air contact will be prioritised in Boris Johnson’s planned reopening of England.
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According to , outdoor sports and socialising will be permitted first before the retail and hospitality sectors are reopened.
Earlier this week we revealed Boris Johnson would prioritise allowing more people to meet up for exercise outdoors after schools reopen as he gradually unlocks the country as one.
The Prime Minister has vowed to set out his road map out of lockdown on February 22.
And within weeks of the schools returning from March 8, sports like tennis and golf will be allowed along with outdoor socialising in limited groups.
Outdoor markets and likely to open before high street shops and al-fresco dining before eating inside.
And the Prime Minister has ordered that restrictions on alcoholic drinks be simplified, with the removal of the substantial meal rule.
Before the national lockdown came into force at the beginning of January, most of the country was in strict Tier 4, where non-essential shops and pubs were shut.
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Pubs were also closed in Tier 3 and in Tier 2 punters had to order a substantial meal if they wanted to drink alcohol.
You also had to sit outside if you wanted to drink with another household.
Only the loosest Tier 1 restrictions allowed meeting up indoors - capped at six people.
Takeaway pints were allowed in Tiers 3 and 4 but are banned under the current lockdown.
Britain is poised for a great unlocking in May thanks to its world-leading vaccination programme.
And the country is also on course to smash its target and give all adults both doses by August 14, analysis suggests.
Meanwhile, scientists said the UK could achieve herd immunity against Covid by July — stopping the disease in its tracks.
Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said Britain will be able to massively ease restrictions once all over-50s have been offered the jab by late spring.
But senior Tory MPs yesterday urged PM Boris Johnson to lift all restrictions by May.
Mark Harper — chairman of the Covid Recovery Group of lockdown sceptics, with 70 Tory MPs — said: “Back-of-the-envelope calculations I did based on two million doses a week mean you could get the top nine priority groups, first doses, and the top four groups, second doses, all done by the end of May.
“So it seems to me by the time you get to the end of May, no later than that, you should be in a position to get rid of restrictions completely.
“But obviously it does depend on the rollout of the vaccine.”
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The PM is under pressure to reopen schools in England before March 8, as kids in Wales and Scotland will return after the February half-term.
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University of East Anglia professor of medicine Paul Hunter said schools should reopen before March 8 and other restrictions should be lifted soon after.
He said: “I think there could well be a case for opening schools sooner — I particularly think schools for children under 11 years of age, where the evidence that they contribute to the spread of the epidemic in the wider population is a lot lower.”
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