UK coronavirus live: Boris Johnson ditches 2m social distancing rule for '1m-plus' in England

No 10 scraps daily press conference after today; 2m rule stays in Scotland and Wales; English pubs, restaurants, hairdressers to open from 4 JulyFull story: households can host visitors at homeKey points: what’s reopening on 4 July in England?Publish action taken to support BAME people, says Doreen LawrenceWhitehall not sharing data on local outbreaks, say councilsGlobal coronavirus updates – live 2.48pm BST Marston’s chief Ralph Findlay has been speaking to PA Media. He has said he expects the company will reopen 80 to 85% of its 1,400 pubs from 4 July after being given the go-ahead to open sites with “1-metre-plus” distancing in place.I welcome the news. If two-metre distancing had stayed in place we would have only been able to reopen around 25% of our pubs. This is a positive step, but I think there is also now a case for some kind of stimulus to help consumer spending. Personally, I feel a VAT cut, which has been touted, would work.Our pubs will meet the latest guidelines and we will ensure table-spacing, masks for staff, and other precautions. 2.40pm BST This is from the Green Party MP Caroline Lucas –PM says change in guidance is conditional on defeat of #Covid. Yet @IndependentSage says infections should be “consistently & significantly” below 1,000/day & they aren’tNor will test & trace system be fully operational til SeptBased on Govt record, it’s hard to trust it now Continue reading…
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