On Monday, Boris Johnson confirmed that the highly-anticipated second phase of the lockdown easing roadmap would go ahead on 12 April.
When Boris Johnson laid out his roadmap “to recovery” for England in February, one of the many things people were hoping to find out was when restaurants would reopen.
In his speech, the prime minister explained that lifting restrictions depends on four tests: 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.
On 29 March, people were permitted to begin socialising outdoors (including in private gardens) in groups of up to six.
The next phase of lockdown easing has been confirmed for 12 April, with a raft of new freedoms returning.
Read more:
- When will pub gardens reopen?
- When will shops reopen including clothes and charity stores?
- When will gyms reopen?
- When can we travel again? Key lockdown easing dates
But what does all this mean for restaurants? Here’s everything you need to know.
When will restaurants reopen?
Restaurants, pubs, and cafes can reopen for outdoor dining in England on 12 April.
Customers must remain seated while ordering and eating their food, and the rule of six applies.
When customers are out of their seats - for example, to be shown to their table, they must wear face masks and obey social distancing.
In terms of indoor dining, Mr Johnson said that venues could begin to serve limited numbers of customers inside dining rooms no earlier than 17 May - though this will depend on how case numbers and the vaccination programme progress.
Read more: Lockdown roadmap: What is reopening and when?
Will we see a return of the regional tiered system?
The easing of restrictions applies across England, with measures no longer being implemented on a regional basis.
However, Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said the government will have to leave room for “highly local” interventions.
He told Times Radio: “I think they are going to have to keep the possibility of having much more targeted interventions in certain areas.”
What have the experts said?
Sage member Professor John Edmunds has said rapid easing could lead to a surge in hospital admissions “and indeed deaths”, and placed emphasis on vaccinations.
He told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “We’re all at risk and we can all spread the virus, and so, until we’ve all been vaccinated - I include children here - then there is going to be significant risk of a resurgence.”
