One metre plus to allow hospitality to open from 4 July

The two metre social distancing rule will be relaxed to one meter (with mitigations) from 4 July to allow parts of the hospitality sector to reopen from the lockdown, the Prime Minister has announced.

This phase three of the three-stage plan to unlock England will be welcome news to the hospitality sector that has not been able to operate.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will reopen at their own pace.

Pubs, cafes and restaurants will be able to reopen as long as they collect contact details from customers, subject to existing data protection rules.(see below).

Hairdressers will also be able to reopen as long as visors are used.

The one metre apart rule will be allowed as long as prescribed safeguards are put in place to reduce the risk of Coronavirus transmission, though people should keep to two metres apart where possible.

Driving lessons and theory tests will restart on 4 July in England, and car driving tests will restart from Wednesday 22 July 2020

New guidance for hospitality includes:

• the avoidance of face-to-face seating
• changing layouts
• reducing the number of people in enclosed spaces
• improving ventilation
• using protective screens and face coverings,

From now on people will be asked to follow guidance on social contact instead of legislation, which will also allow from 4 July two households of any size to meet in any setting inside or out. And it doesn't always have to be the same two households.

The government has published guidance for specific types of venue.

Hotels and guest accommodation guidelines

The government has separately published guidance for people who work in hotels and guest accommodation, indoor and outdoor attractions, and business events and consumer shows. The guidance makes clear that the following measures should be put in place: 

• Hotels and accommodation providers to introduce deep cleaning regimes between guests.
• Meal services including breakfasts to be pre-booked and timed.
• Timed tickets will be introduced for exhibitions, theme parks, galleries and attractions to reduce the number of visitors in locations at the same time.
• One way systems, clear floor markings and a queue management system should be in place to maintain social distancing measures at all attractions and help to limit contact between both staff and visitors. 
• Organisations to encourage cashless payments to avoid cross contamination.
• Visitor attractions to introduce regular deep cleaning regimes across their sites and some interactive displays will be temporarily closed.

Places that can reopen on 4 July (provided they are Covid-secure)

• restaurants and pubs, limited to table-service (so no standing at a bar), as long as customers provide their contact details in case someone is later identified as having Coronavirus.
• hairdressers, with appropriate precautions, including the use of visors.
• overnight, self-contained accommodation, including hotels and bed & breakfasts,
• campsites
• Most leisure facilities and tourist attractions can reopen if they can do so safely, including outdoor gyms (not indoor) and playgrounds, cinemas, museums, galleries, theme parks and arcades, as well as libraries, social clubs and community centres.
• Outdoor recreation and sport
• Places of worship will be able to reopen for prayer and services – including weddings with a maximum of 30 people.

The Government may allow fairs, outdoor markets and on-street drinking and dining without planning permission in England this summer under a new Business and Planning Bill. Local authorities will have the flexibility to set their own conditions and the right to withdraw pavement licenses if areas are not kept clean.

Not yet allowed to open

The following have to remain closed:

• Nightclubs
• Casinos
• Bowling alleys and Indoor skating rinks
• Indoor play areas including soft-play
• Spas
• Nail bars, beauty salons and tanning salons
• Massage, tattoo and piercing parlours
• Indoor fitness and dance studios, and indoor gyms and sports venues/facilities
• Swimming pools including water parks
• Exhibition or conference centres must remain closed for events such as exhibitions or conferences, other than for those who work for the business or organisation who run the venue.

Gradual reopening of other places

• Courts, probation services, police stations and other public services will increasingly resume face-to-face proceedings.
• Wrap-around care for school age children and formal childcare will restart over the summer.
• Primary and secondary education will recommence in September with full attendance, and those children who can already go to school should do so – because it is safe.

Track and trace and GDPR

The opening up of the economy following the COVID-19 outbreak is being supported by NHS Test and Trace.

Venues have to assist the service by keeping a secure, temporary record of their customers and visitors for 21 days, in a way that is manageable for the business, complying with GDPR, and assisting NHS Test and Trace with requests for that data if needed.

There will be a need to carry out a Privacy Impact Assessment before collecting customer contact details;, and have a policy in place that requires the deletion of such data after the mandatory 21 days, and actually delete it. The policy can be posted on the venue's website, if it has one.

Venues may also face having to deal with requests for copies of data they hold on an individual, so it will be important to know how to respond, ensuring any information released is given only to the correct person.

Further reference

Review of two metre social distancing guidance - Summary of review findings

Check out our Business after COVID-19: Transition Knowledge Hub for more guidance and advice on managing the pandemic.