Your ultimate unlockdown guide: From bars to hairdressers and gyms to care homes

Your ultimate unlockdown guide: Get ready for your first trip to the pub in three months… from hairdressers and gyms to care homes, how life in England will change from next Monday

  • Hairdressers, shops and beer gardens can all reopen in England from April 12
  • Boris Johnson told press conference he is ‘sticking like glue’ to his plan to unlock
  • Confirmed his four tests for moving to next stage of easing had been met
  • Some parts of England have seen high streets closed since before Christmas following spikes on Covid cases 

Hairdressers, shops and beer gardens can reopen on Monday for the first time in more than three months as England takes a major step towards the end of lockdown.

Boris Johnson said he is looking forward to a pint of beer next week as he last night confirmed the next stage in his roadmap for easing restrictions.

The Prime Minister told a Downing Street press conference the success of the vaccine rollout means he is ‘sticking like glue’ to his plan to unlock.

‘All the data that I can see suggests to me that we have no reason to deviate from it,’ he said.

It means large swathes of the economy that have been closed since at least the beginning of January when the third national lockdown was announced can finally resume trading.

Hairdressers, shops and beer gardens can reopen on Monday for the first time in more than three months as Boris Johnson announced that England could take a major step towards the end of lockdown

High street retailers, hairdressers, barbers, beauty salons and nail bars are on the list of premises that can open their doors from Monday

High street retailers, hairdressers, barbers, beauty salons and nail bars are on the list of premises that can open their doors from Monday

All non-essential shops will be allowed to reopen, as will hairdressers, beauty salons and gyms. Like in Scotland today, queues are expected outside hairdressers as people rush to get a long-awaited trim

All non-essential shops will be allowed to reopen, as will hairdressers, beauty salons and gyms. Like in Scotland today, queues are expected outside hairdressers as people rush to get a long-awaited trim

New care home rules will allow residents to have two visitors, rather than just one. Babies and toddlers under the age of two will also be allowed to see their relatives

New care home rules will allow residents to have two visitors, rather than just one. Babies and toddlers under the age of two will also be allowed to see their relatives

High street retailers, hairdressers, barbers, beauty salons and nail bars are on the list of premises that can open their doors from Monday.

In some parts of the country, including London and much of the South East, these have been shut since the week before Christmas – meaning shops were not able to have Boxing Day sales. 

The Prime Minister last night confirmed his four tests had been met for moving to the next stage of his lockdown easing roadmap – the continued success of the vaccine rollout, the impact it is having on hospitalisations and deaths, the NHS not being overwhelmed, and no new variants of concern.

He told the press conference: ‘On Monday I will be going to the pub myself – and cautiously but irreversibly raising a pint of beer to my lips.’ But Mr Johnson added: ‘We can’t be complacent. We can see the waves of sickness affecting other countries and we have seen how this story goes.

‘We still don’t know how strong the vaccine shield will be when cases begin to rise, as I’m afraid that they will, and that’s why we are saying please get your vaccine, or your second dose, when your turn comes.’ 

Here, the Mail looks at what restrictions are set to be lifted from next Monday, where the government stands on summer holidays abroad, and the likelihood of vaccination passports becoming the ticket back to normality:

What will change on April 12?

  • All non-essential shops will be allowed to reopen, as will hairdressers, beauty salons and gyms.
  • Pubs, restaurants and cafes can reopen for outdoor service, but will have to wait until at least May 17 to serve customers indoors.
  • Mass testing to be available, with everyone urged to take two tests per week.
  • New care home rules will allow residents to have two visitors, rather than just one.
  • Self-catering accommodation, including campsites, can reopen, but hotels and B&Bs must remain closed until at least May 17.
  • Shops will be allowed to stay open until 10pm, six days a week, in a bid to reduce crowding.
  • The maximum number of people allowed to attend weddings and wakes will rise from six to 15.
  • Public buildings can reopen, as can outdoor attractions such as theme parks and zoos.
  • Controversial hospitality rules such as the 10pm curfew and requirement to buy a ‘substantial meal’ with alcohol will be dropped.
  • Clothes shops will be allowed to reopen their changing rooms for the first time in more than a year.
Pubs, restaurants and cafes can reopen for outdoor service, but will have to wait until at least May 17 to serve customers indoors

Pubs, restaurants and cafes can reopen for outdoor service, but will have to wait until at least May 17 to serve customers indoors

Foreign Travel

  • Public advised ‘not to book summer holidays abroad until the picture is clearer’.
  • No update on whether foreign travel will be allowed to resume from May 17, the earliest date identified in the original roadmap.
  • A new traffic light system will govern foreign travel when it is allowed to restart.
  • Green-rated countries, where vaccination levels are high but case numbers are low: Travellers will have to take tests before and after flying home but will not need to quarantine. No countries named, but Israel and Iceland could be among the first.
  • Amber-rated countries: Travellers will have to take tests before and after their journeys and will need to quarantine for ten days at home on return.
  • Red-rated countries, including South Africa and Brazil: Direct flights are banned and anyone returning home will have to undertake ten days’ hotel quarantine at a cost of £1,750.
  • Travellers will have to pay for their own Covid tests, at a cost of around £100 each.
Self-catering accommodation, including campsites, can reopen, but hotels and B&Bs must remain closed until at least May 17. People are still being advised not to book foreign trips

Self-catering accommodation, including campsites, can reopen, but hotels and B&Bs must remain closed until at least May 17. People are still being advised not to book foreign trips

Mass Events

  • Pilot schemes to return large audiences are to start next week when 300 people attend Liverpool’s Hot Water Comedy Club on April 16.
  • Trials will look at limiting entry to people who have tested negative for Covid.
  • Venues will experiment with improved ventilation and will also trial different forms of social distancing.
  • First nightclub evening in more than a year when 3,000 people attend Circus in Liverpool on April 30.
  • Ministers hope to trial vaccine passports at the FA Cup final at Wembley on May 15, when up to 20,000 fans will be allowed in.
The maximum number of people allowed to attend weddings and wakes will rise from six to 15

The maximum number of people allowed to attend weddings and wakes will rise from six to 15

Vaccine Passports

  • Covid certification ‘likely to be a feature of our lives’.
  • Vaccine passports could help theatres, nightclubs and stadiums reopen with bigger crowds.
  • System could also be used to allow ‘reduced social distancing requirements’ in pubs and restaurants.
  • Negative Covid test or proof you have had the virus in the past six months and have antibodies could be used as alternatives for people not vaccinated.
  • Government says businesses already have the right to bar customers who pose a health risk and says it would be an ‘unjustified intrusion’ to stop them.
  • Vaccine passports will not be allowed to limit access to supermarkets, GP surgeries or public transport.
  • Ministers are in talks with other countries about possible requirements for foreign travel.
  • Plan will get ‘appropriate parliamentary scrutiny’ but no commitment to a Commons vote.
  • NHS is developing both digital and paper systems for people to prove they have had the vaccine.
  • Scheme will not come in until at least June 21.

Social distancing

  • Review led by Michael Gove will look at whether distancing rules can be relaxed to allow ‘closer social contact’ between family and friends and increase numbers of people in offices and on public transport.
  • Ministers will consider if and when it will be possible to ‘lift or amend’ the one-metre rule.
  • The review will report back by June 21.