May 18th, 2021
12 mins
ENGLAND:
Some of the rules on what you can and cannot do will change on 17 May. This government guidance has been updated to set out that, from that date:
You should continue to work from home if you can. When travelling within the UK, you should aim to do so safely and plan your journey in advance.
You should get a test and follow the stay at home guidance if you have COVID-19 symptoms.
Gathering limits will be eased. Outdoor gatherings will be limited to 30 people and indoor gatherings will be limited to 6 people or 2 households (each household can include a support bubble, if eligible).
New guidance on meeting friends and family will emphasise personal responsibility rather than government rules. Instead of instructing you to stay 2m apart from anyone you don’t live with, you will be encouraged to exercise caution and consider the guidance on risks associated with COVID-19 and actions you can take to help keep you and your loved ones safe. It is stressed that the risks of close contact may be greater for some people than others and in some settings and circumstances, there will be specific guidance that you will need to follow even when you are with friends and family.
Other changes:
- Indoor entertainment and attractions such as cinemas, theatres, concert halls, bowling alleys, casinos, amusement arcades, museums and children’s indoor play areas are permitted to open with COVID-secure measures in place.
- People will be able to attend indoor and outdoor events, including live performances, sporting events and business events. Attendance at these events will be capped according to venue type, and attendees should follow the COVID-secure measures set out by those venues.
- Indoor hospitality venues such as restaurants, pubs, bars and cafes can reopen.
- Organised indoor sport will be able to take place for all (this includes gym classes). This must be organised by a business, charity or public body and the organiser must take reasonable measures to reduce the risk of transmission.
- All holiday accommodation will be open (including hotels and B and Bs). This can be used by groups of up to 6 or 2 households (each household can include a support bubble, if eligible).
- Funeral attendance will no longer be limited to 30 people, but will be determined by how many people the COVID-secure venue can safely accommodate with social distancing. Limits at weddings, wakes and other commemorative events will be increased to 30 people. Other significant life events, such as bar/bat mitzvahs and christenings, will also be able to take place with 30 people.
- The rules for care home residents visiting out and receiving visitors will change, allowing up to five named visitors (two at any one time), provided visitors test negative for COVID-19.
- All remaining university students will be eligible to return to in-person teaching and learning from 17 May, and should get tested twice a week upon return.
- Face coverings will no longer be needed in classrooms or for students in communal areas in secondary schools and colleges. Twice weekly home testing will remain to control infection rates.
- Support groups and parent and child group gathering limits will increase to 30 people (not including under 5s).
- There will no longer be a legal restriction or permitted reason required to travel internationally. There will be a traffic light system for international travel, and you must follow the rules when returning to England depending on whether you return from a red, amber or green list country.
The importance of social distancing is stressed.
The full updated guidance is available here.
WALES:
Wales moves to alert level two of coronavirus restrictions on 17 May.
Places that can reopen from this date include:
- Indoor hospitality for groups of six people from up to six households.
- Holiday accommodation.
- Cinemas, bowling alleys, bingo halls, indoor play centres, casinos, amusement arcades, theatres and concert halls.
- Indoor visitor attractions.
Other changes include:
- Up to 30 people can take part in organised indoor activities.
- Up to 50 people can participate in organised outdoor activities. This includes wedding receptions and funeral wakes.
However, Wales is to delay a small number of reopening measures scheduled for 17 May in response to the rise in cases of the virus variant first found in India. For example, people in Wales are being advised to only travel abroad for “essential” reasons for at least three more weeks.
The two-metre social distancing rule in Wales will not change on 17 May, outside of household bubbles or extended households. The move comes in response to Indian variant.
Nightclubs and indoor live music venues in Wales will not reopen until at least June.
Wales will use the same traffic light system for international travel as the rest of the UK.
Further easing to rules governing who you can meet in private homes is expected at the next review in three weeks’ time.
SCOTLAND:
From 17 May, mainland Scotland will move to level two restrictions. However, Moray and Glasgow will stay at level three restrictions for another week.
While the situation in Moray is said to be improving, case numbers are more than double the Scottish average. Similar reasoning has been applied to the situation in Glasgow which is, according to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, “causing even more concern at this stage” – although it is “very likely” Moray will remain in level three after a surge in cases there.
A traffic light system is to be introduced for international travel. However, People living in Moray and Glasgow will not be allowed to travel in or out of the areas except for in permitted circumstances but businesses affected will be offered extra financial support, Ms Sturgeon has confirmed.
Elsewhere in Scotland, changes from 17 May, which will also allow pubs and restaurants to sell alcohol indoors, were confirmed by Ms Sturgeon last week:
- Up to four people from no more than two households can socialise indoors in a private home.
- Up to six adults from three households can meet in an indoor public place (such as a bar).
- Up to eight adults from eight households can meet anywhere outdoors.
- Hospitality venues return to “greater normality”, serving alcohol indoors until 22:30 – customers may be asked to book two-hour slots.
- Outdoor adult contact sport and indoor group exercise to restart.
- Cinemas, amusement arcades and bingo halls to reopen.
The first minister also said that the requirement for social distancing during meetings indoors or in private gardens would be dropped – but added that it was “vital to be cautious”.
A “more fundamental review” of physical distancing will be carried out in the next three weeks, which will look at whether there can be further relaxations in places like pubs and restaurants.
Ms Sturgeon said there were no changes at this stage to guidance on face coverings, but that their use in schools would be reviewed in the coming weeks.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Northern Ireland is due to ease restrictions next on 24 May.
