Hospitality gets green light as restrictions continue to ease

Hospitality businesses in Southport can today operate under reduced restrictions, including welcoming customers indoors.

Indoor hospitality can resume from today although venues such as nightclubs face a further wait until 21 June.

From today:

• Indoor entertainment and indoor attractions can reopen.
• People can meet indoors in a group of 6 or outdoors in a group of 30.
• Weddings can accodomate 30 guests though dancing will not be permitted.
• Secondary school pupils will no longer be required to wear masks and universities will reopen for in-person lectures.
• Care home residents can have 5 named guests.
• Cinemas, museums and play areas can reopen.
• Organised indoor adult sport back.
• Theatres, concert halls, conference halls and sports stadia can also reopen to larger events, but with capacity limits.
• Cap on number of funeral mourners lifted.
• Remaining outdoor entertainment (including performances) allowed.
• International travel can resume to the small selection of countries on the government’s Green List.

The new restrictions are the final measures in the government’s staggered approach.

The next easing of regulations, currently planned for 21 June, will see full “normality” restored to British society.

However the emergence of the so-called Indian Variant has cast doubt over the 21 June target.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that the final easing of restrictions will depend on low levels of transmission, hospitalisation and death caused by Covid-19.