Plans to ease lockdown in the UK on the 21st of June have been postponed by four weeks.
The BBC has reported that government sources have confirmed the decision to prolong the country’s current restrictions pending further review. Originally it was rumoured that the delay in reopening would be for a fortnight, but four weeks extra is now confirmed.
Clubs and music venues have been closed in the UK for around 15 months due to the pandemic, and many venues have already arranged reopening events scheduled for the end of this month.
Although it appears that the government have already made a decision on amending the UK’s reopening plans. The official announcement will be made at 6 PM BST by the country’s prime minister Boris Johnson.
It’s expected that Boris Johnson will give details on things like financial aid for those whose job is affected by the postponement along with any new restrictions.
Reopening postponement comes amid fears of the new and highly infectious coronavirus variant Delta, which is now thought to account for around 90% of COVID-19 cases in the UK.
This announcement is expected to see a pause rather than a reversal in the current reopening plans, so businesses already open are expected to continue operating under their current restrictions. In the entertainment industry, this means sports, pubs, cinemas and other venues will have to observe capacity limits, and mass events are not able to go ahead.
The BBC’s news report stated: “The extension will be put to a Commons vote this month and could trigger a sizeable Conservative backbench rebellion.” So, although the UK’s government has a majority vote who agree with the reopening postponement, there is likely a large percentage who wish to continue with the original schedule.
Last week, the ‘Night Time Industries Association’ (NTIA) warned that clubs and other music venues in the UK could face huge liability costs if they had to cancel reopening events at short notice. It’s estimated that £1.3 billion has been spent on the UK’s anticipated return to events on the 21st of June, but this news means that over 5,000 events can no longer go ahead.
H/T: BBC
