Government to remove most Covid rules on 19 July

The final step, confirmed by prime minister Boris Johnson yesterday (5 July), will also see:

• No more limits on social contact to allow people to gather in groups of any size.
• The removal of the one metre-plus rule in almost all settings.
• The government will no longer require people to work from home.

Instead, people will be encouraged to use their personal judgment on the risks of infection.

Johnson said: “We must be honest with ourselves that if we can’t reopen our society in the next few weeks – when we will be helped by the arrival of summer, and by the school holidays – then we must ask ourselves ‘when will we be able to return to normal?’”

The government has also chosen not to impose the use of domestic Covid passports for people to demonstrate their vaccination or testing status.

Paddy Lillis, Usdaw general secretary, tweeted: “This is too much too soon. The government should not be weakening safety measures in shops at the same time as opening up other venues.”

Tom Ironside, director of business and Regulation at the BRC, said: “It will take consumers and businesses time to adjust and it is vital that government messaging is clear and consistent so that businesses and consumers easily understand what is expected of them both legally and individually.”

The government will make a final decision on 12 July.

Meanwhile, Bira is calling on the government to provide more support for indie businesses forced to close if staff have to self-isolate.

Bira is calling for:

• Review the track and trace system and the need to self-isolate – Even if those who’ve had two vaccinations may not be required to self-isolate this still means that younger people will need to do so and many retail staff will be in the yet-to-be-vaccinated age bracket.
• Instruct local authorities to use money from the Restart Grants to support the businesses forced to close – New data shows local authorities have almost £1bn of Restart Grants to distribute. If this is truly excess money, it still needs using in a productive way to ensure the high street recovery continues.
• If Restart Grants cannot be used, there need to be new funds made available for hard-hit business owners to claim – 10 days closure with no income, will be hard for many fragile businesses to sustain.

Andrew Goodacre, Bira chief executive, said: “As a sector we are looking forward to restrictions being lifted, which will hopefully result in more people visiting the high streets throughout the UK.

“However, there is some nervousness as we have become use to high number of cases resulting in lockdown, and whilst we accept that we have to live with this virus, it will take time to readjust the approach and the thinking.

“As cases rise, we are seeing more people forced into self-isolation for 10 days and unable to work. This situation may force the business to close, through no fault of the business owner.”

Find out what retailers plan to do when Covid restrictions end here.