I am delighted that the Prime Minister has announced that, from July 4th, we can reduce the two metre rule to one metre which means that thousands of businesses including a range of wonderful pubs, bars, restaurants, hotels, bed and breakfasts and camp sites across the constituency can open from next weekend. This is because our collective effort to defeat this virus has paid off. A month ago 1 in every 400 people had Covid 19, today that number has dropped to 1 in every 1700 of us. Overall the number of infections is declining by between 2%-4% every day and this has meant that the government has been able to downgrade the UK’s Covid Alert Level from 4 to 3. This is great news for the local economy, for families and for all those people who have been isolated for so long but it is dependent on all of us keeping to the new guidelines so that we avoid a second spike and the risk of further measures being imposed locally.
2 metre rule
Earlier this month the Prime Minister launched a review into the social distancing guidance. In line with the review’s findings and, given the drop in the spread of the virus, Mr Johnson has announced that the 2 metre rule will change in England from July 4th. We should still, where possible, keep two metres apart but where this is not possible the advice is to keep a social distance of ‘I metre plus’ whilst taking mitigations to reduce the risk of transmission.
These could include:
- Avoiding face-to face seating by changing layouts
- Reduce the number of people in enclosed spaces
- Improve ventilation
- Use protective screens and face coverings
- Close non- essential social spaces
- Provide hand sanitiser
- Change shift patterns so staff work in set teams
Guidance about how businesses can reduce the risk is published on www.gov.uk
Social Contact
This can be increased from July 4th with two households being able to meet in any setting indoor or outdoor. This is in addition to the existing limit on outdoor gatherings of 6 people from different households.
You can find more guidance here: Meeting people from outside your house from 4 July
Businesses which can open from July 4th
- Hotels, hostels bed and breakfast accommodation, holiday apartments or homes, cottages or bungalows, campsites, caravan parks or boarding houses limited to two households together.
- Places of Worship
- Libraries & Community Centres
- Restaurants, Cafes and Workplace Canteens
- Bars & Pubs
- Cinemas
- Bingo Halls
- Theatres and concert halls, but no live music
- Weddings with up to 30 people
- Museums and galleries
- Hair salons and barbers
- Outdoor playgrounds and Outdoor gyms
- Funfairs, theme parks and adventure parks and activities, and amusement arcades
- Outdoor skating rinks
- Other indoor leisure centres or facilities, including indoor games, recreation and entertainment venues
- Social Clubs
- Model villages
- Indoor attractions at aquariums, zoos, safari parks, farms, wildlife centres and any place where animals are exhibited to the public as an attraction.
You can find more guidance here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/opening-certain-businesses-and-venues-in-england-from-4-july-2020?utm
Businesses which cannot open from July 4th
Nightclubs
- Casinos
- Bowling alleys and indoor skating rinks
- Indoor play areas including soft-play
- Spas
- Nail bars and beauty salons
- Massage, tattoo and piercing parlours
- Indoor fitness and dance studios, and indoor gyms and sports venues/facilities
- Swimming pools and water parks
- Exhibition or Conference Centres
Ministers will work with industry taskforces within these sectors to find ways of re-opening as soon as possible.
Children
Wrap-around care for school age children and formal childcare will restart over the summer. Primary and secondary education will start again in September with full attendance.
