UK enters key de-escalation milestone: Enables overseas travel, football audiences and pub shoppers

The UK is once again allowing hugs between family members, travel abroad and the reopening of covered hotels, after nearly five months of restrictions to contain covid-19.

The country begins this new stage of de-escalation on Monday, despite the authorities’ concerns about the expansion of the Indian variant of covid, especially in the north of England.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called last night for a “dose of caution” over the return of social contacts and said “Everyone must contribute” to avoid the spread and remember the message “hands, face, space and fresh air”.

“Be careful with the risks to your loved ones, remember that physical contact, like cuddling, is a direct way to transmit this disease. So they have to think about the risks by considering, for example, whether they are vaccinated, ”Johnson said in a video posted on Twitter.

British Airways (BA) CEO Sean Doyle said in statements to the BBC from London Heathrow Airport on Monday that the pandemic “has been tough on our people”.

“It’s fantastic to see all of our staff again today, who want to welcome our customers and are delighted to participate in the reconstruction of aviation,” he added.

Some tourists wereted no time, like Keith and Janice Tomsett, a 72 and 71-year-old retired couple who “looked forward” to a trip to the Portuguese island of Madeira, one of the few destinations not subject to quarantine. UK.

“After 15 months in prison, that suits us very well,” Tomsett told UK news agency PA at Gatwick airport in London.

In England pubs, bars and restaurants will be able to serve their customers indoors, while people from two different households can meet indoors, up to a maximum of six people, while museums, cinemas, theaters, stadiums will reopen. , children’s play areas and hotels.

In Scotland, people will be able to meet indoors, up to a maximum of six people, while pubs and restaurants are allowed to serve alcohol indoors until 9:30 p.m. local time.

As in England, cinemas, theaters, game centers will be able to reopen from this Monday in Scotland, but They cannot have up to a maximum of one hundred people inside.

In Wales, pubs and restaurants will also reopen indoors and hotels, cinemas, museums and galleries will be active again, while Northern Ireland will revise its lockdown rules on May 20.

With more than 127,600 dead from the pandemic, the United Kingdom, the most affected country in Europe, has seen its health situation improve after strict containment during the winter and a massive vaccination campaign.

But the advance of the Indian variant, particularly in the north-west of England, threatens to cloud the outlook.

(with EFE information)

KEEP READING: