Johnson has been under pressure from businesses, especially in the hospitality sector, and from members of his governing Conservative Party to relax the lockdown, but until now he had resisted for fear of prompting a second wave.
“Today we can say that our long, national hibernation is beginning to come to an end,” he told parliament. “All hospitality indoors will be limited to table service and our guidance will encourage minimal staff and customer contact.”
Britain has one of the highest death tolls in the world from CCP virus but the number of cases has been steadily falling. Health officials on Monday reported just 15 new deaths, the lowest rise since mid-March.
The daily tally of deaths peaked in April, when the toll exceeded 1,000 on nine days.
Johnson had faced strong lobbying from the hospitality sector and political pressure in his own party to drop the two-meter (6 feet) rule, with many businesses saying they would be forced to close unless it was eased to one meter (3 feet)—the minimum recommended by the World Health Organization.
The prime minister said not all restrictions could be lifted at once and people would need to remain vigilant. He cautioned that lockdown measures might need to be reintroduced if there was a second spike in virus cases.
“As we have seen in other countries there will be flare-ups, for which local measures will be needed,” Johnson said. “And we will not hesitate to apply the brakes and reintroduce restrictions, even at national level, if required.”
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