Gyms and all shops to open after England lockdown

Gyms and non-essential shops in all parts of England will be allowed to reopen when lockdown ends next month, the prime minister has announced.

 

Boris Johnson told the Commons that the three-tiered regional measures will return from 2 December, but he added that each tier will be toughened.

 

Spectators will be allowed to return to some sporting events, and weddings and collective worship will resume.

 

Regions will not find out which tier they are in until Thursday.

 

The allocation of tiers will be dependent on a number of factors, including each area's case numbers, the reproduction rate - or R number - and the current and projected pressure on the NHS locally.

 

Tier allocations will be reviewed every 14 days, and the regional approach will last until March.

 

The PM, who is self-isolating after meeting an MP who later tested positive for coronavirus, told MPs via video link he expected "more regions will fall - at least temporarily - into higher levels than before" and that he was "very sorry" for the "hardship" that such restrictions would cause business owners.

 

Speaking later at a Downing Street briefing, Mr Johnson added that "things will look and feel very different" after Easter, with a vaccine and mass testing.

 

But he warned the months ahead "will be hard, they will be cold, they include January and February when the NHS is under its greatest pressure".

 

Describing how the tiers had become tougher, the PM said:

 

• In tier one, people should continue to work from home where possible
• In tier two, only pubs serving meals can serve alcohol
• In tier three, hospitality will close except for delivery and takeaway, and indoor entertainment venues must also close.

Where pubs and restaurants are allowed to open, last orders will now be at 10pm, with drinkers allowed a further hour to finish their drinks.

 

Indoor performances - such as the those at the theatre - will also return in the lower two tiers, although with reduced capacity.

 

In terms of households mixing, in tier one a maximum of six people can meet indoors or outdoors; in tier two, there is no mixing of households indoors, and a maximum of six people can meet outdoors; and in tier three - the toughest tier - household mixing is not allowed indoors, or in most outdoor places.

 

In all tiers, exceptions apply for support bubbles. From 2 December, parents with babies under the age of one can form a support bubble with another household.

 

Source : 2020 BBC