On Thursday 28 May, prime minister Boris Johnson provided an update on England's lockdown restrictions, after outlining a road map for easing coronavirus restrictions earlier in the month.

Announcing plans to continue easing the lockdown, Mr Johnson said that "limited and cautious" changes will be made in England.

The new changes come after Britons have spent over two months being told to stay in their homes with limited exceptions, such as exercise, shopping for essential items, going to work as a key worker or if unable to work from home and to meet one friend in an outdoor public area while maintaining social distancing.

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

Mr Johnson has said that the government's five tests for easing lockdown measures are being met, making sure the NHS can cope and the death rate from Covid-19 remains low.

From Monday 1 June people in England will be allowed to meet in groups of up to six people in private outdoor spaces such as a garden, some pupils will be permitted to begin a phased return to school and more non-essential shops will begin implementing plans for reopening across the next fortnight.

Previously, the government announced that people 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. From 28 May the same applies in Scotland.​

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Created with Sketch.

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.

From 28 May, people in Scotland can also sunbathe and picnic.

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.”

Other UK nations are not pushing people back to work so quickly.

Schools

Mr Johnson announced on Friday that the government would go ahead with the plan to reopen schools for more children.

The prime minister said: “Closing schools has deprived children of their education and as so often it is the most disadvantaged pupils who risk being hardest hit."

Nurseries and other early years settings, reception, year one and year six will re-open in primary schools from Monday.

From the 15 June secondary schools will provide face to face contact time for year 10 and 12, Mr Johnson said.

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

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Created with Sketch.

Non-essential shops

Non-essential shops will begin to re-open from 1 June beginning with outdoor retail and car showrooms where social distancing measures are easier, Mr Johnson said.

On 15 June the government said the government intend to allow all other non-essential retail to reopen on the condition that the five tests are still being met and shops have been made "Covid secure".

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 government's reopening plan said that currently the hospitality industry falls under Step Three – 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

Groups up to six people can meet in private gardens from 1 June, "provided those from different households continue to stick to strict social distancing rules."

Previously, people were permitted to meet up with one person from outside their household in parks, but not in private outdoor spaces.

Mr Johnson emphasised that people must continue to stay two metres apart from those they do not live with, avoid meeting up with lots of different households in quick succession and not be inside the homes of their friends and families.

The prime minister noted that you can enter someone else's house for the sole purpose of accessing the garden. ​

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