Government gives green light to next stage of Covid roadmap
Indoor entertainment, events and hospitality have all been given the green light to resume from Monday under the next phase of the Government 's roadmap for lifting Covid-19 restrictions.
In a Downing Street briefing last night, Boris Johnson also confirmed there will no longer be legal restrictions on travelling internationally, while all holiday accommodation can now reopen for groups of up to six people or two households.
England is set to enter Stage 3 of the roadmap from Monday, which means:
- Indoor entertainment and attractions such as cinemas, bowling alleys, casinos, amusement arcades, museums and children 's indoor play areas will be permitted to open
- Live performances and sporting events can resume at a limited capacity
- Restaurants, bars, cafes and other hospitality venues can serve indoors
- Organised indoor sport can resume, subject to the organiser taking reasonable measures
- Funeral attendance will no longer be limited to 30 people, but will be determined by how many people the venue can safely accommodate with social distancing.
- Limits at weddings, wakes and other commemorative events will be increased to 30 people.
- The rules for care home residents making visits and receiving visitors will change, allowing up to five named visitors (two at any one time), subject to visitors providing a negative test
- Support groups and parent and child group gathering limits will increase to 30 people (not including under-5s)
- No permitted reason required to travel internationally (details of the Government 's traffic light system for international travel here)
Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce said further easing of restrictions will add to the “real sense of positivity and momentum ” building among the business community.
However, the Chamber has called for urgent clarity on social distancing and Covid certification measures.
Chief executive Henrietta Brealey (pictured) said: “This is another welcome step in the right direction. Now businesses urgently need clarity on social distancing and Covid certification measures ahead.
“The stats and noises from Government have all been reassuring in recent weeks, but yesterday's official confirmation that Stage 3 will go ahead as planned on 17th is still very welcome.
“This is a really significant moment for hospitality, events and tourism industries in particular. We are looking forward to shouting out and helping promote our members over the coming days and beyond. I'd particularly encourage all those reopening or scaling up under Stage 3 to get involved in our 'welcome back ' activity.
“There is a real sense of positivity and momentum starting to build among the business community but there are still areas requiring urgent government attention. Most immediate of these is the need to clarify the policy on social distancing and Covid certification ahead of Stage 4.
“Social distancing, no social distancing and everything in between represent radically different prospects, business models and workforce plans for everyone from hospitality businesses to office based businesses. This is a particular issue for the live events and exhibitions sectors.
“We will continue banging the drum for local businesses and share the latest intelligence on impact and areas for intervention through our Keep Business Moving activity. ”
Is your business is a Chamber member and reopening or scaling up operations under stage 3 of the roadmap? Tell us about it by completing this short form by 12pm on Thursday and we'll feature you in the next stage of our "welcome back" comms.
Did you business reopen under Stage 2 and would you be interested in sharing your experiences and advice with businesses opening on Stage 3? Contact us here to find out more about sharing a short case study.