Boris Johnson urges people to be responsible as pub gardens reopen today in next step of lockdown easing

BORIS Johnson has urged the nation to "behave responsibly" as pub gardens reopen today.

The PM and government scientific advisor warn the rules must be followed to minimise a possible rebound in Covid cases as lockdown restrictions ease.

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Pubs and restaurants resume outdoor dining today in a major easing of England's coronavirus lockdown.

Shops deemed non-essential will also reopen on Monday, as will hairdressers, indoor gyms, swimming pools, nail salons and zoos in another stride back towards normality.

However, social mixing indoors will remain heavily restricted, with around two in five adults yet to receive their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and the vast majority yet to get both.

Mr Johnson urged caution during the "major step forward".

He said: "I'm sure it will be a huge relief for those business owners who have been closed for so long, and for everyone else it's a chance to get back to doing some of the things we love and have missed.

"I urge everyone to continue to behave responsibly and remember 'hands, face, space and fresh air' to suppress Covid as we push on with our vaccination programme."

It comes as...

• Thousands of more pubs can open on April 12 as outdoor boozing rules are eased
• Landlord who adapted pub so it could reopen with 700 bookings must stay shut as ‘air can’t flow’ in garden
• More than half of Brits live in Covid-free areas
• Rishi Sunak facing calls to axe the tax on Covid tests before return of foreign holidays
• Mutant South African Covid variant can ‘break through’ Pfizer jab ‘to some extent’, study finds
• Risk of two fully-vaccinated people catching Covid from meeting up inside is ‘tiny’, scientists say
• UK breaks record for Covid vaccine second doses with more than 475,000 jabs given in just 24 hours

The fanfare for the easing of restrictions has been muted by the national mourning for the Duke of Edinburgh.

Mr Johnson postponed his celebratory pint and Government communications have been pared back to essential messages after Prince Philip's death on Friday at the age of 99.

Meanwhile, Wales will also enjoy renewed freedoms from Monday, with non-essential retail reopening and border restrictions eased to permit travel again with the rest of the UK and Ireland.

Remaining school pupils will return to face-to-face teaching in Wales and Northern Ireland, in moves being echoed in Scotland as pupils return from their Easter breaks.

The "stay at home" order in Northern Ireland will also end as the number of people permitted to meet outdoors rises from six to 10.

Professor Peter Horby, chairman of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), told Times Radio: "The watchword has got to be caution really.

"It's not clear exactly when or how big it will be, but there is, I think, inevitably going to be a bit of a rebound in the number of cases when things are relaxed."

The Oxford University academic said the vaccination programme will minimise hospital admissions and deaths but warned it will not be completely effective.

"Now the extent of it really depends on how well we comply with the ongoing restrictions so we really have to take this step by step," he added.

"I think we can be joyful and enjoy the freedoms but we've still got to realise there's still a large number of people who've not been infected or vaccinated and so they will be at risk."

In England, pubs and restaurants have been making changes during lockdown to maximise their ability to serve customers outside.

But the British Beer and Pub Association estimates that just 40 per cent of licensed premises have the space to reopen for outdoor service.

The previous 10pm curfew rule and the requirement to order a substantial meal with a drink have been scrapped, but social distancing must be observed.

Domestic holidays can resume to an extent, with overnight stays permitted in self-contained accommodation, such as holiday lets and campsites where indoor facilities are not shared.

But these can only be used by members of the same household or support bubble.

International holidays remain banned until an unknown date, amid a row over the cost of testing.

People will not be allowed to visit each other's homes, with socialising indoors still prohibited outside support bubbles.

It will be the third in a series of easings since the third national lockdown was legally imposed in England on January 6.

The next significant date is May 17, when socialising indoors will be permitted under the "rule of six" - if the Prime Minister judges that the vaccination programme is safely breaking the link between infections and deaths.

After three months of full national lockdown, the Government said on Sunday that a further seven people had died in the UK within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test.

Another 1,730 lab-confirmed cases were also announced.

Around 61 per cent of adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to official figures.

This suggests that more than 32 million people have received a jab.

More than 14 per cent have had both doses.