Nearly all Covid restrictions to be lifted in Step 4 in Stamford and Rutland - expected in two weeks time
Boris Johnson has set out what the next step of easing will be
Boris Johnson has said that nearly all of England’s coronavirus regulations, including wearing masks, will be scrapped at the next stage of the road map, which he's planning to happen on the 19th July.
The Prime Minister has been setting out what's going to be changing in two weeks time, although the final decision on the date will be taken on the 12th July.
He confirmed the next stage would include scrapping mandatory mask-wearing and lifting social distancing requirements; instead, the public are being asked to use their judgment and the protection offered by vaccines.
The Prime Minister’s plan for Step 4 of the road map
Here's what Boris Johnson announced would happen in the next step of easing:
- There will be no limits on social contact, meaning the end of the orders such as the “rule of six” and restrictions on guests at weddings and mourners at funerals.
- Legal requirement to wear face coverings will be lifted, although guidance will suggest people might choose to do so in “enclosed and crowded places”.
- All remaining businesses will be able to reopen, including nightclubs, while capacity caps will be lifted and bars and restaurants will no longer be restricted to table service.
- The Government will no longer instruct people to work from home.
- The “one metre plus” rule on social distancing will be lifted except in specific circumstances such as at the border, where guidance will remain to keep passengers from red and amber list countries from mingling with other travellers.
- The limit on named care home visitors will be lifted but infection control measures will remain in place.
- The gap between vaccine doses for under-40s will be reduced from 12 weeks to eight, meaning that all adults will have the opportunity to be double-jabbed by mid-September
Mr Johnson also confirmed there will be no compulsory use of Covid vaccine passports – although firms will be able to voluntarily use the system.
"Balancing the risk"
Officials acknowledged that Covid-19 cases and deaths would continue to increase – albeit at a much lower level than before the vaccination programme – but it was now necessary to find a new way to live with the virus.
At a Downing Street press conference, Mr Johnson acknowledged the pandemic was “far from over” with cases rising “fairly rapidly”.
“There could be 50,000 cases detected per day by the 19th,” he said.
“We are seeing rising hospital admissions and we must reconcile ourselves, sadly, to more deaths from Covid.
Boris Johnson continued to say that we must “balance the risk” of the disease from the virus and the harm from continuing with legal restrictions which “inevitably take their toll on people’s lives and livelihoods, on people’s health and mental health”.
He added: “And we must be honest with ourselves that if we can’t reopen our society in the next few weeks, when we will be helped by the arrival of summer, and by the school holidays, then we must ask ourselves ‘when will we be able to return to normal?’
“And to those who say we should delay again – the alternative to that is to open up in winter when the virus will have an advantage, or not at all this year.”
Mark Woodcock works as a driving instructor in Rutland.
He's glad his pupils will have the option of whether they want to wear a face covering or not:
"I will still use hand sanitiser on the controls between lessons, and I will still keep face masks in the car in case I have any vulnerable pupils.
"Overall though, face masks have been inconvenient, especially for people who need glasses, as it's led to them steaming up a lot of the time."
Meanwhile, Ben Jones runs the Olive Branch pub in Rutland.
He reckons things are moving in the right direction:
"It will certainly be nice for our staff not to have to wear face masks during work.
"It's restrictive and it's difficult to look after the customers whilst wearing them.
"Facial contact is very important in communicating with our customers."
Meet some of the people who've been vaccinating us
David Atherton won the Bake Off in 2019. He's now serving up vaccines in London
Elvis impersonator Dr Andy Mason vaccinated two of his backing singers, who also happen to be his daughters
Drag Race star Cherry Valentine has been part of the Vaccination programme in Lancashire (presumably not wearing those nails!)
Edgar Woodhead, on the left in his "normal" role as an airline pilot, and on the right, as a vaccinator in Ilkley, Yorkshire