UK Loosens Lockdown Next Week, Cafes to Restaurants Can Serve Guests

English illustration. (Unsplash/Tania Mousinho)

JAKARTA - British authorities continue to finalize plans to loosen COVID-19 restrictions on May 17. This includes plans to allow indoor meetings.

The UK authorities believe this is in line with the development of the case of COVID-19 infection as well as vaccination programmes in the UK, which have positive results.

The plan to loosen these restrictions, in line with the four acceleration measures announced by the UK Government in February. The goal is to re-live life in England.

Pubs, cafes and restaurants will be able to accommodate customers indoors, also for the first time in months and subject to certain rules. Indoor entertainment venues, hospitality and other sports will also be able to continue the activity.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Office, Downing Street, said the latest data on COVID vaccinations, infections, hospitalisations and deaths, as well as the risks posed by the new variant had been taken into account in deciding to proceed with the next step.

"The data reflects what we already know, we will not let this virus attack us", Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, according to a Downing Street statement, according to a Statement from Reuters Monday, May 10.

"The roadmap remains on track, our successful vaccination program continues. More than two-thirds of adults in the UK have now received the first vaccine, and we can now expect to open carefully but irrefutably", the statement continued.

PM Johnson is scheduled to give more details at a press conference on Monday. Meanwhile, semi-autonomous administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have separate schedules to ease COVID restrictions.

The UK has lost more than 127,000 people due to COVID-19. There was a second wave that peaked at the end of January, since then the number of new cases and deaths has dropped dramatically. Read more

As of Sunday, a total of 1,770 new cases and two new deaths from COVID-19 were recorded across the UK. That contrasts with the situation in the second wave, when the daily number of new cases reached more than 80,000 while the number of daily deaths was above 1,300 on the worst day.

There are also expected to be significant changes to the arts and events sector related to easing plans, with indoor and outdoor venues allowed to accommodate more people than for months.

Earlier, the UK Government had confirmed last week that international travel would be allowed to resume on May 17, although it was still with strict restrictions except for some countries.