Boris Johnson is expected to announce a further relaxation to lockdown rules today, which includes the reopening of cinemas, galleries, and museums from 4 July.
Venues which have been closed since mid-March will be allowed to reopen if they observe strict safety measures. Johnson is also expected to indicate how pubs can open once more, having reviewed the current 2 metre distancing rule.
Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said that the virus is now "in retreat" and that England was "clearly on track" to ease lockdown measures. No 10 have warned that measures will be reversed if problems arise, noting they would "not hesitate to reverse these steps".
Fewer than 1,000 cases of Covid-19 were announced yesterday, the lowest number since lockdown began. The number of those in hospital with the virus has fallen below 5,000. The number of daily deaths has also fallen to 15, the lowest since before lockdown, however, figures frequently dip on Mondays due to reporting delays.
Arts and entertainment venues will be allowed to reopen once they are “Covid secure”. This includes asking customers to pre-book tickets, to stand in socially distanced queues and to use different entrances and exits. Screens may also be introduced to limit contact.
Professor Linda Bauld, a public health expert at the University of Edinburgh, warned that: "I don't think we're in the position where we have a fully functioning track and trace [system] to give us the confidence that if we start to see cases rise again we can contain it.”
