Spa, steam rooms and saunas to reopen on May 17
STEAM rooms and saunas will reopen on May 17 as Boris Johnson confirmed Covid lockdown restrictions WILL go ahead from Monday.
The Prime Minister confirmed this evening that the UK had met the four tests to move to the next phase of the government’s Covid roadmap to reopen the country.
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Under step three of the government roadmap, saunas and steam rooms can reopen from May 17 to allow the full spa experience.
Spas have been open for treatments and swimming from April 12, but their sauna and steam room facilities have remained closed.
Organised adult sport and exercise classes can also resume indoors from Monday, in another boost for pandemic-weary Brits.
The rules will also be eased so people can meet loved ones indoors and pubs and restaurants can serve customers inside, as the PM thanked Brits for their “efforts”.
The lockdown lifting rules confirmed tonight include:
- Rules for pubs and restaurants will be relaxed so people can meet up to six inside, and 30 outside
- Holidays will be legal again – and the £5,000 fines will be dropped
- Hugging between friends and family will be given the nod, as social distancing rules are expected to be relaxed
- Hotels, cinemas, indoor play areas and other attractions are allowed to reopen finally
- But strict pub rules will remain including table service, social distancing and checking in via the NHS app
- Schoolkids will no longer have to wear masks in class
More than two thirds of adults jabbed across the UK under the vaccine programme, with deaths and hospitalisations at their lowest since July.
At this evening’s Downing Street press conference, Mr Johnson hailed next week’s easing of lockdown restrictions as a “very considerable step on the road back to normality”
Announcing hugs would be permitted from Monday, the Prime Minister cautioned “you should do it if you think it’s appropriate”, but said people should be “ceasing to rely on government edicts.”
And he urged Brits to continue social distancing when not with friends or family.
The PM said: “We must continue to fight the spread of variants here in the UK. We must remain vigilant.
“Today we are announcing the single biggest step on our road map.
“It will allow us to do many of the things that we have yearned to do for a long time, so lets protect these gains by continuing to exercise caution and common sense.”
Mr Johnson said the government may be able to scrap the one-metre social distancing rule from June 21, the next date when lockdown restrictions are due to ease.
He said: “I am feeling very positive about it, but we have to be guided by the data.”
The government’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty gave more good news, saying “we do not think there is a likelihood in the next period [of] a significant increase in pressure on the NHS”.
Sir Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific adviser, told the press conference vaccines were slashing hospitalisations and deaths, as well as transmission of the virus.
Under the next stage of the government’s roadmap out of lockdown restrictions, pubs will be able to open their doors and welcome customers back inside.
Venues will be allowed to provide table service only, with the rule of six in place for indoors diners and drinkers.
Today we are announcing the single biggest step on our road map
Boris Johnson
And foreign travel is to be allowed once more, with countries divided into green, amber and red lists according to the virus risk.
The rule-of-six for outdoor meetings will be extended to allow 30 people to come together outside.
It comes as no new Covid deaths were recorded in England in the last 24 hours – the first time the figure has been zero since last July.
The UK recorded just four fatalities today, all of them in Wales as the Covid alert level was dropped from four to three.
Earlier, health minister Nadine Dorries said the country is now “in a really good position” thanks to the vaccine rollout and mass testing.
She said “it does look as though the roadmap is on course”, but stressed restrictions will be eased “with caution, ensuring the data is in place”.
Meanwhile, new Public Health England data show two shots of the Pfizer jab slash the risk of Covid death by 97 per cent.
‘STRONG POSITION’
And for the first time, PHE has confirmed that one dose of the AstraZeneca jab cuts a person’s chances of being killed by Covid by 80 per cent. The figure is the same for a single shot of Pfizer vaccine.
MPs and scientists have been pushing for a quicker return to normality following such great progress, with Professor Carl Heneghan, director at the Centre for Evidence Based Medicine at Oxford, one of them.
He told The Telegraph: “I think at some point we’ve got to get back to a normality and see what happens. And we want to do that when it’s summer and infections are low.”
And Professor Sir John Bell said the nation is now in a “very strong position” to move forward with the easing of restrictions which will enable people to “try and get back to normal”.
A third of the country has now had two jabs, the Prime Minister revealed yesterday, giving those calling for a faster end to lockdown a stronger position.
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Mrs Dorries was asked whether the positive data on numbers of cases, hospitalisations, and deaths might even mean the PM could speed up the final exit from lockdown on June 21.
She replied: “You’ll have to wait until the PM makes an announcement this afternoon, but it is data not dates and the data is looking good and we know that.
“And I hope the PM will be making a positive announcement this afternoon, I’m sure it will be, and it will be based on the data.