Hull Business Improvement District (BID)

22 February, 2021

The plan for easing lockdown in England has been announced by the Prime Minister in the House of Commons.

From 8 March - All schools will open with outdoor after-school sports and activities allowed. Recreation in an outdoor public spaces - such as a park - will be allowed between two people, meaning they would be allowed to sit down for a coffee, drink or picnic
From 29 March - Outdoor gatherings of either six people or two households will be allowed. It is understood this will include gatherings in private gardens. Outdoor sports facilities such as tennis or basketball courts will reopen and organised adult and children's sport, such as grassroots football, will also return

Secondary school pupils will be required to wear face coverings in classrooms and shared spaces like corridors.

The second step from 12 April would see major parts of the economy permitted to reopen:

Non-essential retail opens, hairdressers and public buildings like libraries and museums
Outdoor settings like alcohol takeaways, beer gardens, zoos and theme parks
Indoor leisure like swimming pools and gyms
Self-contained holiday accommodation, such as self-catering lets and camp sites

But wider social contact rules will continue to apply in all settings - meaning no indoor mixing between different households will be allowed.

Mr Johnson confirmed the end of hospitality curfews - and requirements to eat a substantial meal alongside alcohol.

Funerals continue with up to 30 people, and weddings with up to 15 guests.

The third step will come from 17 May - if the data allows - and will see the "rule of six" abolished for outdoor gatherings, replaced with a limit of 30 people:

Two households can mix indoors - with the rule of six applied in hospitality settings like pubs
Cinemas, hotels, performances and sporting events reopen - though social distancing remains
Up to 10,000 spectators can attend the very largest outdoor seated venues like football stadiums

Up to 30 people will be able to attend weddings, receptions, funerals and wakes.

The fourth step from 21 June will potentially see all legal limits on social contact removed, with the final closed sectors of the economy reopened - such as nightclubs.

The government hopes that - from this date - restrictions on weddings and funerals will also be abolished.