"We can't wait": Big day for London venues as lockdown eases further
Indoor dining's back on the menu, groups of thirty are allowed to meet up outside - and we can now hug our loved ones again
The country's taking another big step out of lockdown today.
Indoor dining's back on the menu, groups of thirty are allowed to meet up outside - and we can now hug our loved ones again.
Theatres and cinemas across the capital are also getting ready to have their first audiences back.
"We are adhering to the 50% capacity rule, and also when you do book a viewing with us, the seat on either side of your booking will also be blocked," says Chris Sweeney, who manages Archlight Cinema in Battersea.
"We have screens at our box office as well, and we've got sanitiser all over the place," he adds.
We're told film-lovers will also be spoiled for choice - after many release dates were pushed back for big movies.
Elsewhere, up to 30 people will be allowed at weddings, and the cap on the number of mourners attending funerals will be lifted, in line with the safe capacity of the venue.
Secondary school pupils will no longer be told to wear face masks in class and communal areas, and university students will return to campus for in-person lectures.
The "stay in the UK'' restriction will lift and people will be able to travel to "green list'' countries without having to quarantine, provided they take one post-arrival test.