As expected, the government has given formal confirmation that England will proceed as planned with Phase 3 of the roadmap on 17th May 2021.
More good news is that we are currently on track to meet the targets for Phase 4 on 21st June, but final decisions on this will be given in due course and is subject to data at the time.
This is welcome relief for many. It means that from Monday 17th May:
School domestic residential trips are back
Corporate events can reseume
Indoor attractions and hospitality are back
Theatres can reopen
Further guidance will be updated over the next few days, including on government websites, many of which have not yet been updated.
However, we are delighted that we will now be able to resume running our award-winning domestic group trips and events, and bringing UK groups back to the theatre!
So far the what you can and cannot do guidance for England has been updated with measures that will change from 17 May including:
Indoor entertainment and attractions will be permitted to open with COVID-secure measures in place including cinemas, theatres, concert halls, museums, and galleries.
Theatres are limited to 50% capacity or 1000 people, whichever is the lower. This means many shows are unable to break-even and so most are delaying their reopening until after 21st June. See our list of London productions here for more details.
Indoor hospitality venues such as restaurants, pubs, bars and cafes can reopen,
This means that school trips, teambuilding events, and private group tours for families and other self-contained groups can resume to museums, galleries, attractions, theatres and more.
Finally, yesterday was also an important day in that zero deaths were reported in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland - this has not been reported since 30th July 2020. This now feels like we are on the path to recovery and as the PM said "unlocking irreversibly".