Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson. [Source: BBC]
The easing of lockdown rules in England is the “biggest step yet on the road to recovery”, the prime minister has said.
Many businesses – including pubs, restaurants, hairdressers and cinemas – can reopen from Saturday.
Boris Johnson said the public “must not let them down” by being complacent about social distancing, and he would “not hesitate” to reimpose restrictions if the number of Covid-19 cases rises.
“Targeted local” measures would replace “blanket national” ones, he said.
England’s chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty, who spoke alongside Mr Johnson at Friday’s Downing Street briefing, said no-one watching would think the easing was a risk-free step but that “there is no perfect, exact way of doing it”.
It comes after pubs were told they must wait until 06:00 BST to reopen as a “precaution” to avoid midnight parties.
