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Nightclubs and soft play areas to remain closed
NIGHTCLUBS and soft-play areas in England will be forced to remain shut despite lockdown measures easing, Boris Johnson announced today.
The Prime Minister unveiled his roadmap for Brits to get back to near normality, including telling workers they can go back to offices and insisting that public transport is now safe.
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But while restrictions are easing for some, other firms will have to remain closed.
Mr Johnson said: "Nightclubs, soft play areas sadly need to remain closed for now, though this will be kept under review."
Number 10 has confirmed this also means dance halls, discotheques, strip clubs, and other sexual entertainment venues and hostess bars must remain shut.
All indoor play areas, including soft play spaces, must stay closed too.
What business can reopen from August 1?
PRIME Minister Boris Johnson has announced the next round of lockdown measures that will be eased from next month.
Businesses that can reopen from August 1:
- Casinos
- Bowling alleys
- Leisure centres
- Ice-skating rinks
- Facial treatments at beauty salons
- Theatres, music halls and other venues can open for socially distanced audiences
Businesses than can reopen from October:
- Sports stadiums welcome back fans
- Conferences can go ahead
- Strip clubs
Businesses that must stay closed:
- Nightclubs, dance halls, discotheques
- Sexual entertainment venues and hostess bars
- Indoor play areas, including soft-play areas
Further guidance is expected to be published later today.
Venues that are allowed to offer permitted services must close any areas that fall under the "not allowed" list above.
For example, an indoor play area as part of a restaurant that is open must remain closed.
But cafes, bars, pubs, and restaurants can't reopen if they are a part of the premises of a business or venue that must remain closed.
The only exception is if they are in self-contained units that can be accessed from the outside.
It's worth pointing out that this only applies to England as Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales have their own rules.
The announcement came during a sweeping speech where Boris unveiled a series of measures to get Britain working again. They included:
- Handing councils powers to shut pubs and cafés without going to government first through "lightning lockdowns"
- Insisting public transport is safe again as Brits can go back on trains and buses after coronavirus
- Giving the NHS an extra £3billion so hospitals are "battle ready" for winter
- Setting a target of 500,000 tests a day by the end of October
- Putting a time frame on social distancing so the nation can finally have a hug
In addition, as already outlined, Mr Johnson today confirmed that gyms and leisure centres can reopen in England from July 25.
But he today revealed that from August 1, bowling alleys, skating rinks, and casinos will also now be allowed to reopen.
Beauticians will also be allowed to offer a full range of services from the same date. Currently, salons in England can't offer facial treatments, such as eyebrow waxing.
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Pilots for reopening larger venues such as sports stadiums and conference centres will also restart, before an expected wider reopening in autumn.
Oliver Dowden, secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport separately confirmed that socially distanced audiences can return for indoor performances in theatres, music halls and other venues from August 1.
He said this builds on pilots with the London Symphony Orchestra and others.
Wedding receptions for up to 30 people will also be allowed from August 1.
But Mr Johnson warned that all reopenings must be done in a Covid-secure manner.
In September, schools, nurseries and colleges will also reopen for all children on a full time basis as planned.
And universities are working to reopen as fully as possible.
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In addition, Mr Johnson confirmed that the 1 meter social distancing rule is likely to be scrapped in November.
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Currently, people in England are advised to keep a social distance of at least 2meters but this was revised to 1meter from July 4 when the former can't be achieved.
Mr Johnson added that he hopes things will be able to return to normal by Christmas.
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