Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged citizens to continue to be responsible, even though relaxed epidemiological measures come into effect today.
People can now socialize indoors in limited numbers, hug loved ones and visit pubs and restaurants.
The ban on traveling abroad has also been lifted and replaced with new rules.
“Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the easing of measures was a major step forward on the road map to freedom.”
The rule changes come as the variant first identified in India continues to spread in the UK, with mass testing being launched in hotspots including Bolton in Greater Manchester and parts of London and Sefton.
Sir Jeremy Farrar, a member of the government’s independent scientific advisory group Sage, said that scrapping the rule was “the most difficult political decision in the last 15 months or so. It’s a very, very finely balanced one.”
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that the variant, which is thought to be more transmissible, “is becoming dominant in parts of the UK and yet vaccination across the country has been extremely successful”. “I think we’ll see an increase in cases and infections over the coming weeks as some of the restrictions are lifted, but the key question is whether we’ve decoupled the increased transmission in people who get infected from the number of people who get sick and go to hospital.”
Although measures are being eased In England, Scotland and Wales, the changes are different in each country. Two areas of Scotland – Glasgow and Moray – will not relax the rules after a spike in cases.
Scientists believe the Indian variant spreads more easily, but early data suggests the vaccines are still working. However, the exact impact on vaccine effectiveness – if any – has yet to be determined.
How have the rules changed?
England:
- People can now meet indoors in groups of up to six or two households or in groups of up to 30 outdoors. Overnight stays are allowed.
- Pubs, bars and restaurants can serve customers indoors.
- Museums, cinemas, children’s playgrounds, theaters, concert halls and sports stadiums can reopen, as can hotels.
- Social distancing guidelines are changing, and contact with other households, such as hugging, is a matter of personal choice.
Scotland (except Glasgow and Moray):
- People can meet indoors in groups of six from three households. Up to eight people from eight households can mingle outdoors.
- Pubs and restaurants can serve alcohol indoors until 22:30
- Entertainment venues such as cinemas, theatres and bingo halls can reopen, and up to 100 people are allowed at indoor events.
Wales:
- Pubs and restaurants can reopen indoors and customers can meet in groups of up to six from six households
- All holiday accommodation can be opened
- Cinemas, bowling alleys, museums, galleries and theaters can reopen.
- No changes to indoor socializing – this is still limited to extended households where two households can mingle and have physical contact
Northern Ireland will review its lockdown rules on May 20, with hopes that some could be lifted on May 24.
