Millions of Brits take day off to booze, shop and get finally get a haircut as lockdown restrictions ease

RELIEVED Brits welcome the next Covid unlocking today — with millions taking the day off to booze, shop and finally get a haircut.

Many pubs, gyms, salons and non-essential shops will open for the first time in 114 days.

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Pent-up demand will see £1.5billion — that’s £2.7million a minute — spent in venues and reopening attractions between 9am and 6pm.

Work leave requests for today are up almost 20 per cent.

Some bosses will let work-from-home staff pop out for a bargain or beer.

BrightHR, which monitors annual leave at more than 10,000 workplaces, said: “It’s fair to say April 12 is the most requested day off in the last year excluding Christmas, Easter and summer holidays.”

More than a million will visit pubs, with eight million in shops and millions more making day trips.

In the next week, 24million people — half of England’s adult population — will go drinking or shopping.

NO BARRIERS

The unlocking comes 114 days since Boris Johnson announced Tier 4 restrictions that shut pubs and shops in the South, and 97 since the nationwide curfew on January 5.

Gyms reopened from 6am today, with some Primark stores opening at 7am and many cafes from 8am.

And 20,000 pubs and 10,000 restaurants will serve outdoors to rule-of-six punters. Thousands more will offer takeaway drinks.

There will be no 10pm curfews and “substantial meal” barriers — but Health Secretary Matt Hancock urged people to stick to the rules on distancing and handwashing.

Some areas saw snow yesterday, and brewer Marston’s has kitted out some pubs such as The Manor House in Kinver, Staffs, with tepees to keep punters warm. Other pubs will offer hot-water bottles.

Among the first to open was the Kentish Belle in Bexleyheath, South East London, which served from a minute past midnight.

Landlord Nicholas Hair, 26, said: “The council were on board and we got a temporary event notice.

"We will pre-pour pints and pop them on pre-booked tables. At 12.01, we’ll blow a whistle so people can run to their drinks.”

Wetherspoon is opening almost 400 of its 875 pubs, most from 9am.
Greene King in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, has been sending lorry loads of its IPA to its 442 boozers in preparation.

Young’s is opening 140 venues, while Punch has spent £1million on tents, cosy huts and outdoor heating to get 662 of its pubs open.

Ten million gym users will resume workouts. PureGym — Britain’s biggest chain with 230 studios — said: “We look forward to welcoming old and new members after three tough months.”

Households and their bubble can head off on domestic holidays in self-contained accommodation.

Reopening zoos and theme parks will be flooded with families still on their school holidays, while the nation’s 25,000 barbers are ready for a new kind of locks down.

And a whopping £5billion will be spent in shops this week, says a VoucherCodes.co.uk study with the Centre for Retail Research.

Stores will deploy extra security staff to ensure distancing.

Doomed Debenhams is offering up to 85 per cent off and opening 100 stores for two to four weeks before it closes for good.

Currys is offering up to 70 per cent off. Primark will open most stores until 9pm — two hours longer than usual.

High streets have lost £30billion in spending since March 2020, says the British Retail Consortium.

But Professor Joshua Bamfield, of the Centre for Retail Research, said: “Monday will be a good day.

“Consumer confidence is way up and the highest since the pandemic began, with immunisations also building confidence.”

Diane Wehrle, of data analysts Springboard, said there is a lot of pent-up demand, adding: “We ­anticipate a strong footfall in April, continuing to rise over summer.”