Pubs, restaurants, hotels and hairdressers can open from 4 July in England, when social distancing rules will be eased.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said people should remain 2m apart where possible but a “one metre plus” rule would be introduced.
Two households in England will also be able to meet indoors and stay overnight – with social distancing.
The prime minister warned that all the steps were “reversible”.
The government’s chief medical adviser, Prof Chris Whitty, said the relaxation represented a “reasonable balance of risk”.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Wales’ First Minister Mark Drakeford and Northern Ireland’s Arlene Foster have said the 2m rule will remain in place in their nations for the time being.
Theatres, cinemas, libraries, museums, theme parks and zoos are among other businesses that can also reopen.
But indoor gyms, swimming pools, nail bars and indoor play areas will remain closed for the moment, as they have been since lockdown started on 23 March.
During the government’s final daily coronavirus briefing, Mr Johnson said “task forces” were being established to work out how they too could reopen.
The meeting of households will not be exclusive so, for example, one set of grandparents could see their relatives one weekend, and the other set of grandparents the next.
But, unlike the bubble system, people will have to maintain social distance – so family members who live apart will not be able to hug.
In a statement in the Commons earlier, Mr Johnson said people would be encouraged to use “mitigation” – such as face coverings and not sitting face-to-face – when less than 2m from each other but “where it is possible to keep 2m apart, people should”
Prof Whitty warned “we will get an uptick” if people did not take such measures seriously.
And Mr Johnson urged people to be vigilant, saying the virus “wants to take advantage of our carelessness”.
He said there would be local outbreaks in the future – and that he would not hesitate to reverse the changes at local or national level if the virus were to begin to run out of control.
The venues listed as being able to reopen include:
- Pubs, bars and restaurants but only with a table service indoors, and owners will be asked to keep contact details of customers to help with contact tracing
- Hotels, holiday apartments, campsites and caravan parks but shared facilities must be cleaned properly
- Theatres and music halls but they will not be allowed to hold live performances
- In other changes weddings will be allowed to have 30 attendees, and places of worship will be allowed to hold services but singing will be banned
- Hair salons and barbers will be able to reopen but must have protective measures, such as visors, in place
- Libraries, community centres and bingo halls
- Cinemas, museums and galleries
- Funfairs, theme parks, adventure parks, amusement arcades, skating rinks and model villages
- Indoor attractions where animals are exhibited, such as at zoos, aquariums, farms, safari parks and wildlife centres
source – BBC
