When Does the Lockdown End in England? July 19th is Reopening Day

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“Now is the right time to proceed”. On Monday night, UK prime minister Boris Johnson made it clear that England will continue its plans to reach a lockdown end on the 19th of July. Originally, the UK had planned to end all lockdown restrictions on the 21st of June. However, the rise in cases as a result of the Covid-19 delta variant hindered this reopening date. Now, a month on, England looks to be the first of the UK countries to reach the end of lockdown.

What will happen on July 19th?

Johnson announces lockdown end for England and the UK

Prime Minister Boris Johnson addresses the UK

On the 19th of July, England will end lockdown and remove almost all legal restrictions. These restrictions, in some form, have been in place for well over a year. In an address to the UK last night, the government outlined the following easing of restrictions:

 

  • People working from home should return to the workplace gradually.
  • Face coverings are no longer requited, but recommended in a crowded public space, like on public transport.
  • Social distancing is no longer mandatory.
  • Domestic vaccine passports are recommended to be used for social responsibility. Like for accessing businesses, restaurants, pubs, and nightclubs.
  • No limit on meeting people anymore but recommended to meet others outside.

 

 

For the public, now that social distancing is not required and face coverings are no longer mandatory, this is the closest England has been to normality since the start of the pandemic. In a statement to the nation, Boris Johnson said that “this pandemic is not over” and it is “vital that we proceed with caution”. The reopening plan faced backlash from the Labour Party, with Keir Starmar branding this plan as “reckless”.

Public Response

Many English people across Twitter urged their followers to continue wearing face coverings and maintaining social distance in crowded spaces. Especially on public transport. However, it does not look like the whole of England will get behind maintaining face coverings. On Sunday, before and throughout the Euro 2020 Final, people across England took to the streets to cheer on their national team. Unfortunately for the fans, England lost 3-2 on penalties to Italy. Evidently, the lockdown rules were an afterthought for many of the supporters.

Time will tell if these celebrations have an impression on the Covid case numbers in England. For the nation, a reintroduction of these lockdown measures could cause problems across society. Including problems for local businesses and retailers. Also, problems for people’s mental health. Lockdown has been quite tough for a lot of people, for restrictions to begin again could be very damaging to morale. As it stands, on July 19th will see the lockdown end in England.

 

When does lockdown end for the rest of the UK?

Lockdown end in sight for Scotland

Scotland aim to move to Covid Level 0 by the 19th of July. The Scottish government say there will be an “ongoing need” for measures like face coverings and social distancing to protect then public health. Scotland aim to lift all legal restrictions by the 9th of August.

Uncertainty for Wales

Wales lifting of restrictions have been paused currently, with the next review expected on the 14th of July.

Northern Ireland to be decided by the end of July

On the 26th of July, Northern Ireland aim to ease restrictions further. These include reopening of theatres and outdoor seated venues and live music to return indoors. 10 people from three households are allowed to meet indoors. However, workers will still be advised to work from home.

 

Gradually Returning to the Workplace?

July 19th will see the government’s advice to work from home where possible to be scrapped. Now the government advice is for those working from home to return to work gradually. By returning to work in the office, employees across England will have a very new way of working. As a result of the pandemic, working from home has become accessible for workers worldwide. Many businesses, like

Slack, Spotify and Twitter, have realised the benefit of this also and are allowing staff to work from permanently after the pandemic. Whereas the majority have realised that their employees want more flexibility in how they work. Thus, adopting a flexible working approach. Now the lockdown end is near, the dynamic of the workplace is changing.

Flexible Working in the UK

face coverings still recommend for public transport despite lockdown end

To encourage workers across the UK to return to work gradually, businesses will need to have the right working arrangements in place. For many businesses this will mean flexible working. Workers want some control over where and when they work. Flexible working allows employees to work both from home and in the office interchangeably throughout the week. The idea of a traditional 9 to 5 job has been lost in the pandemic. Throughout the pandemic, people have learned how to do their office jobs from home. Workers value their time and have realised that they don’t need to spend an hour a day commuting to and from work. This hour they save could be used for spending time with family and friends, exercising or just resting up for the following day.

Ronspot for Employees

It’s clear that flexible working will be the most powerful working arrangement for businesses worldwide. Managing flexible working can be difficult, however, with solutions like Ronspot it is easy to achieve. With a built-in parking and desk management booking system, employees can organise where and when they work from their mobile. Employees can view and make bookings in real-time through the Ronspot App up to 90 days in advance.

Ronspot for Administrators

For businesses, administrators will be able to overlook and set rules for employees using Ronspot. Administrators will be able to see who is working onsite by who has booked their spot each day. The check-in & check-out feature will be able to confirm that the employee has arrived for their booking each day. Ronspot can help empower the employees to control how they work, while the administrators will spend less time organising who comes onsite daily.  For those who still wish to operate social distancing, Ronspot has built-in social distancing protocols. Through the admin panel, administrators can create rules around social distancing and ensure that employees are socially distanced while at work.

 

Ronspot for your Office

The solution is designed to make office parking and desk management easy for you. The system is completely free to use too. The community plan seeks to make workplace management easier for both managers and employees. While more accessible for companies of all sizes. Ronspot Community is free so why not get started today? Create an account below.

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