I would like to update you on the next steps in the Government's COVID-19 recovery strategy.
We continue to be guided by the five tests we have set ourselves, which you will already be familiar with, to ensure that any changes to the lockdown are careful, proportionate, and safe. As I am setting out in my statement today, the Government is satisfied that all five tests are still being met and we can proceed with the following further adjustments to the lockdown in England.
A month ago I set out our roadmap to recovery, including the gradual steps we would take to ease the lockdown, as the data and the evidence allow. Last week we took the second step on our recovery roadmap, with some children returning to school, some non-essential retail re-opening, and outdoor gatherings now permitted between up to six people from different households. These important steps have been made possible by the sacrifices of the whole nation, bringing the spread of the virus under control.
We must continue to tread carefully and cautiously, while staying on the road to opening up the economy and allowing people to start seeing friends and family again. We are continuing to follow our roadmap, while adjusting our approach as we need to, as we always said we would - and today I am announcing a series of additional incremental steps to continue easing the lockdown, applying only to England:
- Retail: as the Business Secretary confirmed yesterday, we can now allow all shops to reopen from 15 June. It is vital that establishments should ensure they are meeting Covid Secure guidelines before they reopen. That way, we can keep staff and customers safe while we get retail going again.
- Social Contact: there are still many people, particularly those who live by themselves, who are lonely and struggling with being unable to see friends and family. From this weekend, we will therefore allow single adult households - so adults living alone or single parents with children under 18 - to form a "support bubble" with one other household. All those in a support bubble will be able to act as if they live in the same household - meaning they can spend time together inside each others' homes and do not need to stay 2 metres apart. Support bubbles must be exclusive - meaning you cannot switch the household you are in a bubble with or connect with multiple households. And if any member of the support bubble develops symptoms, all members of the bubble will need to follow the advice on household isolation. Unfortunately, we cannot advise anyone who is shielding to form a support bubble at this stage, given their particular vulnerability to the virus. However, I know how hard it is for those who are shielding, and we will say more next week about the arrangements that will be in place beyond the end of June.
- Places of Worship: we are allowing Places of Worship to reopen for independent prayer from this weekend, again subject to COVID-19 Secure guidance.
- Outdoor Attractions: we will allow outdoor attractions where visitors remain in their own vehicles to reopen from 15 June. This includes drive in cinemas and safari parks. Zoos will also be allowed to open from that point, subject to appropriate safeguards.
In order to enact many of these changes, the Government will amend the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020 later this week, to take effect on Saturday (for social contact and independent prayer) and Monday (for retail and outdoor attractions). These will be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny and approval in the coming weeks. Relevant guidance to reflect these changes will be published on gov.uk. The changes I am announcing today are only incremental, and I know people will once again find anomalies in what people can and cannot do. As I have said before, this is unfortunately inevitable when we are only able to give people a small amount of the freedom they usually enjoy.
As set out in the roadmap, the changes in Step 3 will not begin until 4 July at the earliest, as the evidence allows.
We will continue to remain cautious and measure the effect of the changes we make. As we have always said, we will not hesitate to apply the brakes if that is what the situation requires. That has meant moving more slowly than we would have liked in some areas. It is because the rate of infection is not yet low enough, and because our social distancing advice – including for schools having smaller class sizes - remains the same, that we have decided not to proceed with our ambition to bring back all primary pupils before the summer holidays. Rather, we want to continue to work with teachers to bring back as many pupils as we can within those smaller class sizes. However, provided the progress we are making continues, we do fully intend to bring all children back to school in September. That is our focus and it is consistent with the approach taken by many other countries in Europe.
In the meantime, we must stick to our roadmap. It is only because of the restraint shown by the British people so far that we able to move gradually out of lockdown. So we asking people to stay alert, maintain social distancing, keep washing hands, and follow any instructions received by NHS Test and Trace. In doing so, we will together all save lives and begin to rebuild our country.