First day of open bars in England: Brits are invading open spaces

Hairdressers were full, queues were forming outside stores, and some pubs were starting to serve beers early in the morning. After nearly four months of lockdown, England launched a long-awaited new phase of relaxation on Monday.

“Thanks to the vaccination, things are improving and we hope they will get better and better in the future.», He told the AFP Spaniard Pablo Fernández, 31, a member of a group of health workers leaving the night shift at a hospital in east London.

Taking advantage of the fact that the neighboring pub “Half Moon” exceptionally opened its doors at nine in the morning, they went to celebrate with a few pints of beer. “This reopening symbolizes drunkennessHe joked, illustrating the general joy of finding a certain freedom and normality.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged citizens to “behave responsibly” as the country, which has suffered from the worst outbreak of the disease in all of Europe, takes an important step towards resuming normal activities .

From these moons, bares y restaurantes de Inglaterra pueden abrir sus terrazas -el servicio interior tendrá que esperar al 17 de mayo- y las gélidas temperaturas no parecieron desalentar a muchos de los 56 million inhabitants of the region, that consumen al aire free. Emma McClarkin, executive director of the Pub Association of Great Britain, said the opening as “a small step in a long road to the full reestablishment” of the British pub tradition.

On Oxford Street, one of London’s main shopping streets, the shoppers lined up outside clothing stores from 5:30 a.m., braving the cold two hours before they reopened.

All over England hairdressers were overflowing and some announced they would be open until midnight to meet demand. A client of a Birmingham hairdressing salon expressed her joy at being able to have her hair cut for the first time in a long time. “How wonderful to be here, my hair is rolled up for months,” said client Amy Smith. “And after that, I go to a brewery, so I’m very happy,” she added.

The autonomous governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are deciding their own pandemic policies and deconfinement timetables.

– “Act responsibly” –

With nearly 127,000 deaths, the United Kingdom is the country most affected by covid-19 in Europe. But, confined for the third time since January, December in places like London, it records a very low daily number of deaths (7 Sunday), infections (1,730) and hospitalizations (221).

Being more careful than at the end of the first childbirth, from March to June of last year, andBritish Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a roadmap which provides for, if there are no surprises, a new phase of detente every five weeks.

The first began on March 8, but was limited to the reopening of schools and permission to meet up to five people abroad.

The executive however maintained the slogan of teleworking and on Monday called on the population to “act responsibly” to avoid a new outbreak of infections, which would once again paralyze an economy already heavily punished.

In redes sociales, televisión, diarios y carteles callejeros, una nueva campaña pide a los británicos that den este “nuevo paso de forma segura” y se sometan a los dos tests de antígenos semanales that the autoridades ponen ahora has disposición de todos gratuitamente dos veces per week.

This long-awaited date was nevertheless overshadowed by the sudden death on Friday of Prince Philip, the 99-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth II, who plunged the country into a period of national mourning until his funeral next Saturday.

Thus, the Prime Minister, who in addition to needing an urgent haircut, had declared himself impatient to have a beer in a pub announced that he would leave the latter for later.

– 60% of adults vaccinated –

In addition to terraces and shops, swimming pools and gymnasiums – albeit without group lessons – civic centers and libraries and holiday rentals – but not yet hotels – open in England exclusively for the family nucleus.

This new phase of deconfinement is supported by a successful mass vaccination campaign, which has already administered a first dose of AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to more than 32 million people and the second to 7.5 million.

Nearly 60% of adults have received an injection and health authorities hope to start vaccinating those under 50 soon.

However, the goal of reaching the entire adult population by the end of July could be changed by the decision to limit the administration of AstraZeneca to over 30s as a precaution against rare cases of thrombi. .

The British, however, will have to wait until May 17 to be able to return to shows and museums and see family and friends inside.

This is the case, warn health authorities, as long as the number of cases does not skyrocket due to the arrival of new variants or non-compliance with the rules.

(With information from AFP and AP)

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