The government has today announced that restrictions on parts of the economy will now be lifted provided guidance on social distancing and Covid-19 secure is followed:
- Outdoor pools can reopen from 11 July
- Outdoor performance arts - theatre, operas, dance, music - can take place from 11 July
- Beauticians, tanning salons, and tattooists can re-open from 13 July, subject to Covid secure measures being in place
- Indoor gyms, swimming pools, and sports facilities can re-open from 25 July
Outdoor pools, indoor gyms, pools, and sport facilities. The Government has outlined the measures that will allow outdoor pools to reopen from 11 July and indoor gyms, swimming pools and sports facilities to reopen from 25 July, ensuring millions of people can get back into more sport and fitness activities.
The guidance, published by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, has been compiled with input from the trade body ukactive, the Sport and Recreation Alliance, Sport England and other sports bodies, and in consultation with Public Health England and the Health and Safety Executive.
It includes advice for providers of pool, gym and leisure facilities on cleaning, social distancing, and protection for staff to help venues get back up and running safely.
It also supports the re-opening of sports halls which are vital to the return of play for many sports, including badminton and volleyball. Guidance produced by National Governing Bodies will complement the government guidance and help ensure indoor sports can be played safely from July 25.
Venues must ensure they can enable customers, staff and volunteers to maintain social distancing before, during and after participation.
Performing arts can now take place outdoors from 11 July with a socially distanced audience present. This means that outdoor theatres, opera, dance and music can resume from Saturday so long as they take place outside and with a limited and socially distanced audience.
New guidance, published by the Department for Digital Culture, Media and Sport today, will help performing arts organisations, venue operators and participants in the UK understand how they can work and take part in the performing arts safely, and keep their audiences safe.
The Government will also work with the sector to pilot a number of small indoor performances with a social distanced audience to help inform plans about how best to get indoor venues back up and running.
Recreational team sports will be permitted to begin returning outdoors from this weekend, under government guidance.
The framework sets out the principles that sports must follow to enable the safe return of grassroots fixtures and games. It was produced by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport with input from Public Health England, the Department for Health and Social Care and Sport England.
It will allow different households to participate in training and competitive matches while ensuring the risks of transmitting Covid-19 are minimised. It lays the groundwork for recreational cricket to return on 11 July after the England and Wales Cricket Board submitted thorough plans for the sport’s safe return – with more sports set to follow.
Supporters will also be allowed to attend community fixtures in small numbers provided they are in groups of two households only, or no larger than six people from different households, and adhere to social distancing measures.
This latest guidance is part of the Government’s carefully-designed package to ease the burdens of lockdown in a way that is expected to keep the R rate, the average number of secondary infections produced by 1 infected person, down. The phased approach is outlined in the Prime Minister’s roadmap for easing lockdown. As the Prime Minister has always said, the Government keeps these measures under review, and will not hesitate to apply the handbrake if required.
