Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has this afternoon confirmed England has met all four tests to enable us to ease restrictions and move to Step 3 on the roadmap out of lockdown.
Watch/read the statement here
The alert level has reduced from Level 4 to Level 3. Two thirds of the adult population have now had the first vaccination, with 17.9million of those also having had the second dose. Deaths and hospital admissions are now at the lowest point since July 2020. As it stands, we 'remain on track to ease restrictions further in Step 4.'
On top of the below list of restriction changes, due to start from Monday 17th May, the guidance will also be updated to allow individuals to make their own choices about physical contact, such as hugging. The Prime Minister urged 'caution and common sense' when making decisions and to consider the risk element of those around you.
The below list outlines what will be allowed from Monday 17th May.
- Indoor hospitality - see guidance here
- Remaining outdoor entertainment
- Museums
- Cinemas
- Children's soft play
- Remaining accommodation
- Adult indoor group sports and classes
- Some large events: conferences, performances, sports...
- International travel - see guidance and traffic light system here
We hope the remaining updated guidance will be available very soon.
This is all really positive and exciting news but we must still practice social distancing around people who are not within our friend and family groups. Government is keeping a close eye on the new variants so we still need to 'remain vigilant'.
It is recommended we continue to test ourselves twice a week. The tests are available free of charge from the gov.uk website, walk-in test centres and pharmacies.
If you have any questions about the next steps out of lockdown, feel free to contact us.
Phone 01323 641144
Email info@eastbournechamber.co.uk