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Everything you need to know about the changes to lockdown rules from August - as some measures delayed due to rising numbers of coronavirus cases

More venues will be allowed to reopen while regulations around furlough, shielding and working from home are also changing

Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a media briefing in Downing Street, London, on coronavirus(Image: PA)

More lockdown rules are being relaxed this month - but the relaxation has been delayed due to a spike in coronavirus cases.

Venues which have been forced to stay closed since March are now set to reopen from the middle of the month.

Regulations around furlough, shielding and working from home are also changing.

The latest moves are part of steps by the Government to gradually reopen the country's economy after it came to a standstill as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

But Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeated the message that more restrictions and lockdowns will be considered if outbreaks continue.

So what are the changes?

From August 15, businesses such as skating rings, bowling alleys and casinos will be able to reopen for the first time since March - while beauticians who have only been allowed to offer a limited number of treatments up until now, will be able to open for additional services such as facials and eyebrow threading.

Those changes were due to come into effect on August 1 - but on July 31, the Prime Minister said those measures would be postponed for a fortnight due to rises in the numbers of coronavirus cases.

Boris Johnson told a Downing Street briefing: “With those numbers creeping up, our assessment is that we should squeeze that brake pedal… in order to keep the virus under control.