AN END to social distancing, mandatory face masks and limits on people attending venues is in sight after Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed restrictions were likely to end on July 19.
Although a final decision will be made next Monday (July 12), Mr Johnson has set out a plan for the final step to bring Worcester and the rest of the country out of the Covid-19 restrictions, many of which have been in place since last March.
Worcester’s pubs and hospitality venues can breathe a sigh of relief with all legal limits on meeting indoors and outdoors scrapped while all businesses, including nightclubs, will be allowed to reopen.
The limits on named visitors to care homes will be lifted, as will the limits on numbers attending concerts, theatres and sports events. The one metre ‘social distancing’ rule will also end.
Speaking in the last hour, the Prime Minister said the Government wanted to move away from legal restrictions to allow people to make ‘informed decisions’ about how to manage the virus
Mr Johnson said while the government will end the legal obligation on wearing a face covering, guidance to be published next week will suggest ‘where people might choose to do so’.
Johnson also says there will be a different regime for self-isolation, including different measures for children.
“As we come to the fourth step we have to balance the risks,” he said, highlighting the balance between continuing with restrictions or unlocking the rest of the economy.
“If we can’t reopen our society in the next few weeks when we will be helped by the arrival of summer and the school holidays, we must ask ourselves ‘when will we be able to reopen?'”
The news comes as new data shows Worcester experienced a 244 per cent surge in cases with the number testing positive for Covid-19 up from 55 to 189 in a single week.
