As the country is steadily being brought out of lockdown, the UK is currently at Step Two of the government’s roadmap, which allowed for outdoor hospitality to reopen in England on April 12.
Alongside pubs, restaurants and cafes, non-essential retail and gyms have also reopened, following almost four months of restrictions.
From May 17, indoor hospitality will be allowed to reopen under Step Three, along with museums, cinemas and hotels – should the data allow. Additionally, two households will be able meet indoors for the first time since Christmas.
These measures are part of the four key steps that will bring the UK out of lockdown and reopen the country, over the course of four months, avoiding the use of the tier system used in 2020.
Step one, part one applied to all of England from March 8, with the second part from March 29.
Regions entered step two on April 12, and step three will begin no earlier than May 17.
Step four, which will come into force no earlier than June 21, should see “all legal limits on social contact” lifted.
The roadmap is underpinned by four key tests that are linked to data, which will act like a checklist that must be met before moving on to the next step of reopening.
The four tests will determine whether the vaccine roll-out is going as planned; vaccines are effective in bringing down deaths and hospitalisations; case numbers are not rising so fast that the NHS risks being overwhelmed; and new variants do not create unforeseen risks.
The third test has triggered early debate, because rising cases alone will not be enough to stop reopening. That will happen only if rising cases risk overwhelming hospitals.
