Boris Johnson has announced that the two-metre social distancing rule will be replaced by new “one-metre plus” guidance allowing pubs and restaurants to reopen on July 4th. Hotels and hairdressers will also be permitted to restart their business, as will theatres, cinemas, libraries, museums, theme parks and zoos. However, nail bars, indoor gyms and swimming pools must remain closed for now. People will be required to remain one metre apart while using additional mitigation measures, such as wearing facemasks and not sitting face-to-face, which the PM said was considered by scientists to be “broadly equivalent” in terms of the risk of transmission to the two-metre rule. Two households will also be allowed to meet up indoors.
Mr Johnson told the Commons that the government’s “principle is to trust the British public to use their common sense in the full knowledge of the risk.” Ho wever, he added that local measures would be needed to tackle regional flareups and the government “will not hesitate to apply the brakes and reintroduce restrictions, even at national level, if required.” A further 171 deaths were reported in the UK on Tuesday, taking the total to 42,927, while latest testing figures showed there were 874 new positive cases.
Read more: BBC News
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