What are the latest UK lockdown rules and guidelines on work, pubs, schools and exercise?

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, which include being able to see more family and friends, Mr Johnson said that ”limited and cautious” changes will be made in England.

The new changes come after Britons spent more than two months being told to stay in their homes with limited exceptions, such as exercise, shopping for essential items or going to work as a key worker.

Mr Johnson has now said that the government’s five tests for easing lockdown measures are being met. These include making sure the NHS can cope with the number of coronavirus cases and ensuring that 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 outdoor spaces such as a park or private 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.

Groups of six will also be permitted to exercise together outdoors, provided that strict social distancing guidelines are followed.

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 allowances were applied in Scotland.​

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.

People in Scotland have also beeen allowed to sunbathe and picnic since 28 May.

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 1 June. Likewise in Wales, Mr Drakeford has said that people can exercise more than once a day.

On Saturday 30 May, the government also revealed that people in England are able to exercise in groups of six, provided social distancing is maintained.

In Northern Ireland, people can run, walk and cycle and outdoor activities and sports that do not involve shared contact with hard surfaces, such as golf, water sports and tennis, can restart again.

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

Visiting friends and family members

Groups up to six people can meet outside in parks and private gardens from 1 June in England, ”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 public outdoor spaces, but not in private gardens.

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.

In Wales, restrictions are likely to be relaxed next week so people from two different households can meet each other outdoors.

Face masks

Despite months of ministers telling the public not to wear face masks, the plans advised that people wear “face coverings” when social distancing cannot be maintained, however it is not mandatory.

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 13 May, anyone who could not work from home in England, such as those in construction and manufacturing, has been 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 has announced that the government is going 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.”

Primary schools in England are reopening on Monday 1 June to more pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6.

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.

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 other non-essential retail would be allowed 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 10 May: “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.”

On Monday 8 June, it was reported that pubs in England could be reopened on 22 June, two weeks earlier than planned, in an effort to prevent hospitality workers from losing their jobs.

Read more

Stress levels rise amid speculation over end of lockdown, study finds