Updated 28/6/21 with confirmation of the date.
With new Health Secretary Sajid Javid in charge, the government has now confirmed that the 19 July date for full reopening remains the main target and they won't be bringing that date forward.
When questioned if that means lifting all restrictions, he replied "It is absolutely our intention to have step four commence on 19 July and remove restrictions and start returning to normal." Apparently, they'll be outlining just what that means in the coming days. We'll update you as soon as we have more clarity.
Original story follows
It's probably not the biggest surprise to anyone, even though it may be unwelcome, but the final covid restrictions will not be lifted on 21 June.
In a briefing tonight, Boris Johnson confirmed that restrictions are only likely to be lifted fully on Monday 19 July. They will review this every two weeks and bring forward the date if the figures allow (but that seems unlikely).
What that means for the London hospitality world is that restaurants and bars will still have to adhere to social distancing rules, as well as limiting the amount of tables and customers that they can have indoors. Nightclubs will also remain closed.
All this is to allow more data about the spread of the Delta variant and the efficacy of the vaccine programme (along with being able to get more jabs in arms).
But although things are not going forwards, they're not going backwards either. So you can still eat and drink in restaurants and bars, both inside and out. Find out what the current restrictions are.
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