Beauty salons, tattoo studios, spas and barbers will be allowed to offer all “close contact” services from Saturday as lockdown measures relax, it has been announced.
Bowling alleys, skating rinks and casinos, as well as indoor play and soft play centres, will also be allowed to reopen for the first time since the Covid-19 lockdown was imposed in March.
The news forms part of a raft of easements and restrictions announced by the Prime Minister last night in a bid to balance economic need with public safety.
As part of the changes, wedding receptions in the form of a sit-down meal in a “Covid-secure location” for up to 30 guests will be permitted.
Indoor theatres, music and performance venues will also be allowed to reopen to “socially distanced audiences”.
Commenting on the changes, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “Today, we are able to announce some further changes which will allow more people to return to work and the public to get back to more of the things they have missed.
“However, as I have always said, we will not hesitate to put on the brakes if required, or to continue to implement local measures to help to control the spread of the virus.”
In other changes, fines for repeatedly not wearing face coverings in mandated public places, such as supermarkets and shopping centres, will increase to £3,200, while anyone hosting illegal gatherings of 30 or more people could be handed on-the-spot fines.
Travellers returning from France, the Netherlands, Monaco, Malta, Turks and Caicos Islands and Aruba will also be required to undergo a period of 14 days isolation as infection rates rose in each of the former travel corridor destinations.
Click here to see the announcement.
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