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LONDON — Hug your close friends and family if you want to, Boris Johnson said Monday, as he prepared England for its biggest step toward post-COVID normality yet.
U.K. government guidelines will be adjusted next week to allow people to make their “own choices” when it comes to social distancing with close friends and family outside their households as U.K. infection and death rates continue to fall.
But the new freedoms will come with a health warning.
“This doesn’t mean we can suddenly throw caution to the winds,” Johnson said. “In fact, more than a year into this pandemic, we all know that close contact, such as hugging, is a direct way of transmitting this disease. So I urge you to think about the vulnerability of your loved ones, whether they’ve had a vaccine, one or two doses, and whether there has been time for that vaccine to take effect,” Johnson said.
And people will still have to stay away from strangers and colleagues, with social-distancing rules still set to apply in care homes, hospitals and doctors’ surgeries, shops, bars, restaurants and other businesses.
The review into social distancing comes as Johnson gave the green light for England to move to the next stage of his roadmap out of lockdown.
More than two-thirds of all adults across the U.K. have now had at least the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, and earlier Monday, the four U.K. chief medical officers confirmed the country’s epidemic alert level would be reduced from four to three, meaning that while the virus is in general circulation, transmission is no longer high or rising exponentially.
The easing of restrictions, which will happen on May 17, will mean people in England will be able to meet outdoors in groups of up to 30 people, and meet indoors in groups of up to six or as two households. People will also be able to eat and drink indoors in pubs and restaurants, and cinemas, museums and children’s play areas will reopen.
Theaters, concert halls, conference centers and sports stadia will also be able to reopen, although with some capacity limits. Hotels and B&Bs can reopen and groups of up to six people, or two households, will be allowed to stay overnight. Weddings, receptions and other “life events” will be able to take place with up to 30 people. There will be no cap on the numbers attending funerals, provided mourners can be safely accommodated.
People living in care homes, who have experienced some of the most stringent restrictions during the pandemic, will be able to have up to five named visitors, and greater freedom to make visits that are deemed “low-risk.”
Face masks will no longer be recommended in schools, and in-person teaching at universities will return.
This article is part of POLITICO’s premium policy service: Pro Health Care. From drug pricing, EMA, vaccines, pharma and more, our specialized journalists keep you on top of the topics driving the health care policy agenda. Email [email protected] for a complimentary trial.
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