What pubs, cinemas and hairdressers will look like under new lockdown rules
The government has published new lockdown rules spelling out what pubs, restaurants, museums, theme parks, cinemas and hairdressers will look like when they reopen on 4 July as the UK finally emerges from months of lockdown.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday announced that the UK’s “long national hibernation is beginning to come to an end and life is beginning to return to our streets and our shops.”
But he warned that significant changes must be made to all businesses reopening to ensure that the new “one metre-plus” social distancing rules are maintained.
Here’s what those new lockdown rules will look like in action:
Pubs and restaurants
How it will change for businesses
Pubs and restaurants will be required to keep a register of customers’ contact details for 21 days to help assist with the government’s track and trace programme.
But they will not be required to implement ID checks, meaning the public are pretty much free to give their names as Mickey Mouse, Marilyn Monroe and Lord Lucan under the new lockdown rules.
Venues must significantly reduce their capacity to ensure tables are spaced out at least one metre away, and may even require perspex screens and barriers to separate people.
Pubs and restaurants will be made to shrink staff numbers, and all bar staff, chefs and waiters must wear protective equipment such as masks and gloves.
Businesses should inform their customers that police and local authorities may pop in to carry out social distancing patrols and disperse crowds if necessary.
How it will change for customers
Customers will be able to meet up with friends from one other household at a time in groups of up to 30 in pubs and restaurants under new lockdown rules.
But there’ll be no pints at the bar — table service, takeaway cups, disposable condiments, single-use menus and contactless payment will become the new normal. Where possible, customers will be encouraged to order through apps.
Loud music and live TV will be banned under the new lockdown rules, so while it’s good news the Premier League is on the BBC for the first time, fans will have to watch the football at home.
Entry times will be staggered, meaning long queues are likely, and customers will have to snake around one-way systems in and out of venues.
Due to the current good weather, the government is allowing pubs and restaurants to serve takeaway alcohol. It’s also letting them use car parks and streets to serve food and drink, making way for an “al fresco Britain” this summer.
But despite the current heat wave, the government is particularly concerned that good old British weather will return. The new guidance is clear that customers cannot shelter indoors if it starts raining — so unless marquees are swiftly put up, it’s soggy fish and chips on the menu.
Hotels and holidays
How it will change for businesses
As in pubs and restaurants, staff will be required to keep guests’ details for 21 days under the new lockdown rules.
There’ll be cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning, with hotel and B&B staff required to do a full wipe-down of rooms after visitors vacate.
Lift use will be kept to a minimum, face masks will be compulsory, and check in and check out times will be staggered. Communal doors will be “wedged open” to reduce touchpoints.
How it will change for customers
Holidayers will be able to kick back and relax under new lockdown rules, as meals via room service are recommended, with staff advised to drop “butler’s trays” outside hotel doors and to add tips to the bill.
And it’s a good time for a hostel minibreak — dormitories will be limited to just one household. Communal areas like TV rooms and kitchens will be shut, and hotels have been told to try as hard as possible to offer en-suite facilities.
The same goes for campsites and caravan parks, where indoor shared facilities must remain closed, but outdoor showers will be allowed to reopen.
Cinemas
How it will change for businesses
Staff will appoint special “social distancing champions” under new lockdown rules, who will allocate seating to meet social distancing requirements.
Cinemas are encouraged to limit the number of movie-goers but there is no capacity cap stated in the guidelines. Films will play at a reduced rate.
Staff will neither be “expected nor encouraged” to wear face masks, but customers that do choose to employ personal protective equipment will not be discouraged from doing so. Some chains like Odeon are upping the PPE to assure customers.
How it will change for customers
Booking is advised, as spaced-out seats will limit the number of tickets available.
Pick-n-mix is out the window, but staff-served popcorn will still be on the menu.
Cinemas are advised to avoid film screenings that would see audience members “raise their voices” or engage in “communal dancing”, meaning Mamma Mia! and The Rocky Horror Picture Show are no-gos.
Theme parks and tourist attractions
How it will change for businesses
Large venues are recommended to consider the security implications of their queuing systems under new lockdown rules, as large groups of people might pose a terror threat.
Theme parks have therefore been told to avoid making such information readily available to prevent a “hostile entity [to] identify an attractive target and carry out an attack”.
Managers have been told to put up “sanitation stations,” where customers can regularly wash their hands, and extra staff will regularly empty bins and clean communal areas.
How it will change for customers
Better book your tickets now — crowd numbers will be strictly limited under the new rules. Entry times will be staggered and one-way systems will mean you won’t be able to go on Stealth five times in a row.
Theme parks are encouraged to space out customers to avoid overcrowding, which suggests there will be empty rows on rides.
Seats must also be wiped down after each ride — so you won’t be squished up next to someone else, but you will probably have to queue for longer. And the new one-in-one-out rule for the toilets will do nothing to push down those wait times.
Hairdressers
How it will change for businesses
Salons will also be required to keep a temporary record of all customers for 21 days under the new lockdown rules, so that any new outbreak of infection can be traced.
Hairdressers will sort out your lockdown hair using “back-to-back” or “side-to-side working”, rather than face-to-face. That means no close shaves, and protective visors for hairdressers and barbers.
How it will change for customers
Magazines will be scrapped to limit the spread of infection under the new lockdown rules, and it’s the end of free salon coffees.
Music will be turned down low so that workers don’t have to shout to one another, which increases the risk of transmitting the virus. Blow dries are still allowed, but customers’ seats will be wiped down after each use.