On Sunday Boris Johnson delivered a speech to the nation outlining a road map for how England’s lockdown restrictions would be eased in the coming weeks.

The announcement was later clarified by a 60-page document titled Our Plan to Rebuild, which was published on Monday, and a statement by the prime minister to the House of Commons.

This comes after Britons have spent almost two months being told to stay in their homes with very few exceptions, such as taking one form of daily exercise, shopping for essential items, and going to work as a key worker.

Such restrictions, which Mr Johnson described as “a kind that we have never seen before in peace or war”, have been in place since 23 March.

The prime minister was eager to stress how effective they have been in terms of reducing transmissions of Covid-19. “It would be madness now to throw away that achievement by allowing a second spike,” he added.

From Wednesday 13 May people in England are permitted to take part in unlimited exercise, restart open-air sporting activities and meet one person from another household while abiding by social-distancing rules and staying outside.

Additionally the government’s slogan “Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives” has been replaced with: “Stay Alert, Control the Virus, Save Lives”.

However, the devolved nations of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have all rejected the strategy to switch to the “Stay Alert” message.​

Created with Sketch.

Created with Sketch.

In order to fully ease the lockdown, Mr Johnson said five tests needed to be met, including making sure the NHS can cope and the death rate from Covid-19 remains low.

Here’s everything we know so far about what people can and cannot do in light of the new guidance Mr Johnson has issued.

Sunbathing and picnicking

While previously Britons had been told not to sunbathe or sit down in public spaces, Mr Johnson has said that people in England will now be able to do so as long as they continue to abide by social-distancing guidelines and remain at least two metres apart from people outside of their households.

“You can sit in the sun in your local park, you can drive to other destinations, you can even play sports,” he said. This means people can drive to open spaces irrespective of distance.

FAQs listed on the government website also clarify that people will be allowed to have picnics, and “enjoy the fresh air”.

However, the Welsh government’s first minister, Mark Drakeford, said this does not apply in Wales.

“Our regulations do not permit people to get in their cars and drive to destinations in Wales, and that includes people getting in their cars in England,” he said.

The new rules regarding sunbathing also do not apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Exercise and outdoor sport

The government is now encouraging people in England to take unlimited “amounts of outdoor exercise”. This is also true for those in Scotland, as Nicola Sturgeon has said the once-a-day-limit on exercise will be removed from Monday. Likewise in Wales, Mr Drakeford has said that people can exercise more than once a day from Monday.

While Arlene Foster has not yet announced how the lockdown will be eased in Northern Ireland, it is expected that the public will be advised to go out as much as they like for exercise.

People in England will also be able to take part in outdoor sports so long as it is with members of their household or one person from another household. If you do so you must maintain social distancing and keep two metres apart.

In his statement to the Commons, Mr Johnson said swimming in public pools was not yet an option.

Face masks

Despite months of ministers telling the public not to wear face masks, the plans finally confirmed that the government does now want people to wear “face coverings”.

It says: “As more people return to work, there will be more movement outside people’s immediate household.

“This increased mobility means the government is now advising that people should aim to wear a face covering in enclosed spaces where social distancing is not always possible and they come into contact with others that they do not normally meet, for example on public transport or in some shops.”

Returning to work

From Wednesday, anyone who can’t work from home in England, such as those in construction and manufacturing, will be actively encouraged to return to work.

The government is advising people to avoid taking public transport if at all possible, not just because services are currently limited, but because doing so will make it easier for you to maintain social distancing.

Mr Johnson added that those with cars will be encouraged to drive to work.

“So work from home if you can, but you should go to work if you can’t work from home,” the prime minister said.

“And to ensure you are safe at work we have been working to establish new guidance for employers to make workplaces Covid-secure.”

Schools

The reopening of schools depends on the number of new infections of Covid-19, but Mr Johnson said that he believes we may be in a position to get primary pupils in England back into school by 1 June “at the earliest”.

By that date, the prime minister said: “We believe we may be in a position to begin the phased reopening of shops and to get primary pupils back into schools, in stages, beginning with reception, year 1 and year 6.”

“Our ambition is that secondary pupils facing exams next year will get at least some time with their teachers before the holidays,” he added.

“And we will shortly be setting out detailed guidance on how to make it work in schools and shops and on transport.”

However, Mr Drakeford has said that Welsh schools will not open in June.

Created with Sketch.

Created with Sketch.

Non-essential shops

In the document it says: “Opening non-essential retail when and where it is safe to do so, and subject to those retailers being able to follow the new Covid-19 secure guidelines. The intention is for this to happen in phases from 1 June: the government will issue further guidance shortly on the approach that will be taken to phasing, including which businesses will be covered in each phase and the timeframes involved.”

In Wales ,Mr Drakeford has said that garden centres will be able to open with social-distancing guidelines, and local authorities can begin planning how to safely open libraries and recycling centres.

Pubs and restaurants

The document said that currently the hospitality industry falls under Step Three of the plan – which is scheduled to begin around 4 July, if conditional targets for reducing infection rates are met.

“The ambition at this step is to open at least some of the remaining businesses and premises that have been required to close, including personal care (such as hairdressers and beauty salons) hospitality (such as food service providers, pubs and accommodation), public places (such as places of worship) and leisure facilities (like cinemas). They should also meet the Covid-19 secure guidelines.

“Some venues which are, by design, crowded [for example, nightclubs] and where it may prove difficult to enact distancing may still not be able to reopen safely at this point, or may be able to open safely in part.”

The prime minister added in his speech on Sunday: “And if we can’t do it by those dates, and if the alert level won’t allow it, we will simply wait and go on until we have got it right.”

Visiting friends and family members

Although this was not mentioned in Mr Johnson’s speech, the document said that, as of Wednesday 13 May, people are permitted to meet up with one person from outside their household, as long as they are outside and maintain social distancing.

Before the document’s release there had been some confusion with foreign secretary Dominic Raab initially telling the public they could meet two people, then retracting his statement and saying no household mixing at all.

The document also stated that if infection rates continue to drop, by 1 June the government will consider whether household groups could merge with one other group to reduce the social impact on lone households.

Read More