England will continue plans to ease further COVID-19 restrictions on May 17, including allowing people to cuddle and enter, thanks to favorable information on infections and vaccines, the government said Sunday.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is holding a news conference on Monday afternoon to reveal the details of the UK’s third step in the “roadmap” to the crisis, following discussions with colleagues and advisers this morning.
“The data reflects what we already knew – we’re not going to let this virus beat us,” Johnson said in a statement from Downing Street.
“The roadmap remains in place, our successful vaccination program continues – more than two-thirds of adults in the UK have now had the first vaccine – and we can now look forward to unlocking it carefully but irreversibly.”
The country is gradually lifting its latest exclusion over a period of months, in line with a four-step plan launched in February.
It took the first step in closing in April when hairdressers and shops reopened, and people could eat outside in small groups.
Under the next step, eating and drinking indoors is also allowed at pubs, cafes and restaurants, subject to certain rules, while family and friends can meet indoors for the first time in a month – in groups of up to six people or two full of households together.
Johnson is also said to be embracing friends and family outside their households for the first time in more than a year, according to the Times newspaper.