BORIS Johnson has announced that, from June 1 in England, up to six people can meet outside - but those from different households must stay two metres apart.
It was part of a list of further steps the UK Prime Minister unveiled to ease lockdown, with many of them confirmation of measures he had put forward before.
He said he was able to take these actions because the five tests (protecting the NHS, consistent falls in death rates, consistent falls in the infection rates, solving operational problems, and avoiding a second peak) for lifting lockdown restrictions had been met.
The measures announced were:
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- On Monday, schools will re-open for children in receptions, year one and year six. From 15 June, years 10 and 12 will start to receive some face-to-face teaching;
- From Monday, some non-essential retail will open, with more to come on June 15, depending on the infection rate;
- From Monday, six people will be able to meet, so long as they maintain social distancing rules (staying 2m from people from outside your household) and remain outside. People will be able to meet in private outdoor spaces. The public is advised to avoid mixing with multiple different households in quick succession to avoid quick transmission of the virus.
Chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said the rate of infection was still near to one (between 0.7 and 0.9), meaning lifting measures had to be done very carefully.
People who are classed as extremely clinically vulnerable must remain shielded. However, if the absolute number of infections falls, some lifting of shielding may be possible.