Festivals, nightclubs, gigs and house parties set to return July 19 as Boris Johnson lifts Covid restrictions
FESTIVALS, nightclubs, gigs and house parties are set to return from July 19.
Covid lockdown restrictions will be rolled back on 'Freedom Day' by Boris Johnson as the vaccination programme continues to roll on.
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Nightclubs and gig venues will reopen on July 19 - and there'll be no need for Covid tests or proof of jabs.
Social distancing will be scrapped, meaning drinkers will once again be able to get served at a bar.
Meanwhile house parties and large music festivals will once again be allowed, just in time for summer, the reported.
It comes as:
- Compulsory mask wearing will be ditched when Covid restrictions are finally relaxed on Freedom Day
- Face masks will be a "personal choice" after July 19, a minister has confirmed
- Boris Johnson is set to scrap the QR code sign-in requirement for pubs and restaurants to curb the number of Brits being forced to isolate through the NHS app
- Double-jabbed Brits returning from amber-list countries 'won't have to quarantine after July 19'
- School bubbles are set to be dropped after a senior government vaccines adviser said they risk paralysing society and bringing in a lockdown by the back door
A Downing Street source told the paper: “We believe it is now time for the public to start learning to live with Covid.
“All the data and scientific modelling suggests that the lifting of restrictions will lead to a rise in cases but — with the continued success of the vaccine rollout and the break in the link between hospitalisations and deaths — we are confident there will be no risk of it putting significant additional pressure on the NHS.”
A Government source told in June: "We're increasingly confident that people are protected, and the plan is to open everything - with no exceptions."
The news has been celebrated by clubs, with Simon Thomas - chief executive of Leicester Square's Hippodrome Casino - saying: "This would be a god-send to the night-time economy so we can relaunch central London to a global audience.
"It’s time to get on with life and live with this virus as we’ve lived with others before.”
A series of pilot trials have taken place at mass events, including sports games. A club night in Liverpool was among the tests.
Results show that there were "no substantial outbreaks" after any of the trials, with 28 infections among 58,000 participants.
Clubs have been closed since the first lockdown in March 2020. It's thought a good night out adds £40billion to the UK's economy.
Face masks will be a ";personal choice" after July 19, a minister has confirmed today - with social distancing and isolation also set to end.
Cabinet minister Robert Jenrick said the data was "looking good" for Covid rules to be rolled back after 'Freedom Day'.
He told Sky News' Trevor Phillips On Sunday: "Like many people, I want to get away from these restrictions as quickly as I possibly can and we don't want them to stay in place for a day longer than is necessary."
Meanwhile Sajid Javid has vowed to lift the remaining coronavirus restrictions on July 19 as he plans to make Britain the "most open country in Europe".
The Health Secretary said his main challenges as he takes up his new role are how to restore our freedoms and how to tackle the NHS backlog.
Mentioning the sacrifices made by British people during the coronavirus pandemic, he said it is impossible to eliminate the disease completely, so we will need to find ways to cope with it.
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He also urged everyone to get their jab as soon as they are offered one, describing the vaccination programme as "the single biggest contribution you can make to this national effort".
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Writing in the , he said: "We are on track for July 19 and we have to be honest with people about the fact that we cannot eliminate Covid.
"The economic arguments for opening up are well known, but for me, the health arguments are equally compelling."
