Despite the snow, this Cheshire County pub welcomed its first outdoor patrons. For the first time in months, hairdressers, gyms, clothing stores and other non-essential goods have reopened in England. Pubs and restaurants have also allowed patrons to sit outside. Demand outstripped supply, even with freezing weather and light snowfall in some parts of the country in the morning. To commemorate this period of relaxed quarantine, many Britons donned their winter coats and raised a glass on a bench outside the pub in the early hours of the morning.
“We are open”: a zoo in the county of Bedfordshire. The last time such pleasures were available in England was in early January, and in some regions in October. In Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, where quarantine measures are imposed by local authorities, some relaxations will also come into effect on Monday. Some pubs opened at midnight to symbolically celebrate the beginning of the working year. Their owners and customers said the atmosphere was festive.
No more than six people per table. “I hope this is something of a new beginning and we will not be closing again in the near future,” the owner of the Kentish Belle pub in southeast London told the BBC. And the owner of the Oak Inn pub in Coventry said that at midnight there was a line of hundreds of people outside his establishment. They managed to serve 260 customers, but there wasn’t enough room for 300 or 400 interested people. The British Pub and Beer Producers Association estimates that only 40% of the country’s licensed pubs have the capacity to serve customers outside. The rest are currently unable to open.
Many can finally return to their favorite activity – shopping. Clothing stores, particularly the popular low-cost retailer Primark, saw queues form in many cities on Monday. On London’s Oxford Street, crowds began to gather as early as 7 a.m., with many stores extending their hours until 10 p.m. to accommodate the influx of shoppers. Some salons have even started taking in overgrown visitors at midnight. Kelly Boad, from the city of Warwick in central England, says her salon is fully booked for the next few weeks. Thousands of shops and pubs are celebrating their opening, but many similar businesses could not wait for this day. According to the Local Data Company, more than 17,500 shops and other service businesses closed last year.
Many stores did not wait for the opening date. Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the new phase of easing restrictions “a huge step forward for freedom” and urged people to behave responsibly. He worries that in the excitement, people may forget about masks, hand washing and social distancing. Sam Johnson planned to celebrate the occasion with a pint of beer at the pub, but the pint was postponed due to the recent death of Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. In England, the current phase of easing quarantine measures is already the third since the beginning of March. The next one is planned for May 17, when it will be allowed to invite guests into homes (up to 6 people from different households will be able to interact indoors).
This gym in the northeast of England opened early on Monday morning. This exit plan from the lockdown was announced by UK authorities in February. It calls for five-week intervals between phases – in case some of the relaxations cause new outbreaks of the disease. In Northern Ireland, high school students return to classes on Monday, people are no longer required to stay home, and they can have guests in their homes (up to a total of 10 people). In Scotland and Wales, all students will also return to school. More than 39 million UK residents have already received their first dose of the vaccine, and nearly 7.5 million have received their second dose. The number of deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test in the UK continues to fall. On Sunday, seven deaths were recorded in one day, the lowest since September 2020. In January 2021, at the peak of the second wave, this number reached 1820. The Netherlands continues to experiment with the leisure and entertainment industry during the pandemic. The country’s authorities are conducting experiments to track the potential impact of crowded events and travel during the ongoing epidemic. This time, 187 volunteers are going on vacation to the Greek island of Rhodes, with pre- and post-trip testing and at least five days of quarantine upon return.
Kelly Vos was among the volunteers who expressed a desire to participate in the Dutch government’s experiment. The number of new infections in the Netherlands remains at 7-8 thousand per day and continues to be a concern for the authorities. 3.2 million people in the country of 17.1 million have received their first dose of the vaccine. Los Angeles officials have opened vaccination to the entire population 16 years and older. Recently, Los Angeles was one of the hardest hit cities in the United States by COVID-19. From November to January, the number of deaths there increased by more than 1000%. In one week in mid-January, nearly 20,000 Los Angeles residents died from COVID-19. The third wave in Chile is surprising and worrying, warned British scientist David King. “Chile ranks third in the world in terms of population vaccination rates, and suddenly they are experiencing a third wave. Currently, they have 7600 new cases per day. Despite a high percentage of vaccinated people in this country, a new strain of the virus is emerging,” – said the scientist in an interview with the Sky News channel.