Several key protections will be kept in place despite Boris Johnson confirming England will reopen on July 19.
Boris Johnson announced that most of the legal coronavirus restrictions brought in during the pandemic will end as of July 19.
The use of domestic vaccine passports and face masks will be encouraged as ministers set out a cautious approach to England's "freedom day" on July 19 in response to soaring coronavirus cases.
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And with cases rising, certain measures will remain after July 19.
What's staying in place after July 19?
- Testing when you have symptoms and targeted asymptomatic testing in education, high-risk workplaces and to help people manage their personal risk.
- Isolating when positive or when contacted by NHS Test and Trace.
- Border quarantine: for all arriving from red list countries and for those people not fully vaccinated arriving from amber list countries.
Guidance for individuals, businesses and the vulnerable:
- Whilst the government is no longer instructing people to work from home if they can, the government is expecting and recommending a gradual return over the summer
- The government expects and recommends that people wear face coverings in crowded areas such as public transport; being outside or letting fresh air in minimising the number, proximity and duration of social contacts.
- Encouraging and supporting businesses and large events to use the NHS Covid Pass in high risk settings.
What you can do after July 19:
- All remaining limits on social contact (currently six people or two households indoors, or 30 people outdoors) will be removed and there will be no more restrictions on how many people can meet in any setting, indoors or outdoors.
- All settings will be able to open, including nightclubs. Large events, such as music concerts and sporting events can resume without any limits on attendance or social distancing requirements.
- All restrictions on life events such as weddings, funerals, bar/bat mitzvahs and baptisms will be removed, including the remaining restrictions on the number of attendees. There will be no requirement for table service at life events or restrictions on singing or dancing.
- COVID-status certification will not be required in law as a condition of entry for visitors to any setting.
- The legal requirements to wear a face-covering will be lifted in all settings.
- Social distancing rules (two metres or one metre with additional mitigations) will be lifted.
- It is no longer necessary for the government to instruct people to work from home. Employers can start to plan a return to workplaces.
- Regulations that place COVID-secure requirements on businesses, including table service, and distancing between tables, will be lifted.
- Businesses will be encouraged to display QR codes for customers to check in using the NHS COVID-19 app, to support NHS Test and Trace, although it will no longer be a legal requirement.
- The Government’s intention is that from step four children will no longer need to be in consistent groups (‘bubbles’)
- Early years settings, schools or colleges will not be required to routinely carry out contact tracing
- The Government also intends to exempt under 18s who are close contacts of a positive case from the requirement to self-isolate, in line with the approach for those who are fully vaccinated (as set out below).
- In care homes, the Government will lift restrictions that limit each resident to five named visitors.
