Now that England has entered the first phase in Boris Johnson’s roadmap out of lockdown, with schools reopening on 8 March, people are looking ahead to when more restrictions will be lifted.
Naturally, much of what people are anticipating revolves around socialising, given that so many of us haven’t been able to see friends and family members indoors for so long.
As part of the first phase of stage one (there are two stages in March that constitute stage one), people can now socialise with one other person outdoors, as opposed to simply meeting for exercise.
The next stage, which comes into place on 29 March, will see people permitted to meet outside (including in private gardens) in groups of six or with one other household.
But what about indoor socialising? Here’s everything you need to know.
When will people be allowed to mix inside?
Currently, the government’s roadmap states that people will be able to meet indoors in England no earlier than 17 May, which marks stage three of the plan.
If all goes according to plan, then from that date, six people or two households can meet indoors.
Pubs, restaurants, and other hospitality venues will also be able to seat customers indoors for the first time, meaning you can go out for dinner with friends again and not have to sit outside.
Additionally, as part of this stage, indoor entertainment such as museums, theatres, cinemas and children’s play areas can open.
Indoor events will also be able to take place with limited capacity. For indoor events they can be at half capacity or 1,000 people.
What does this all depend on?
The prime minister said the lifting on restrictions at every stage is dependent on four tests.
These include the success of the vaccine deployment programme, evidence that vaccines are sufficiently effective in reducing hospitalisations, confirmation that infection rates not surging, and that the assessment of these risks is not fundamentally changed by new variants of the virus.
