The Government's expected ending of Covid restrictions in two weeks' time and abolishing social distancing rules will be a "huge moment for hospitality", an industry leader has said this morning.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to tell the nation today that the lifting of almost all rules in England is to go ahead on July 19 despite cases rising to their highest level since January.
The PM is expected to announce the changes at a press conference on Monday afternoon and tell the public that we must "learn to live" with the disease.
He is doing so two weeks ahead of the date to give firms more time to prepare for the unlocking.
Sacha Lord, Manchester's night time economy adviser, tweeted that it was a "huge moment for hospitality", adding: "Please remember it will take a minimum of three years for these businesses to fully recover.
"They will need your support now, more than ever."
Mr Johnson's announcement later is expected to mean fully-vaccinated adults can travel to amber-list countries without isolating upon return - and will not have to isolate if they have come into contact with the disease, as well as face masks becoming voluntary.
Night clubs will be allowed to reopen, while pubs will be able to serve customers at the bar.
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The working from home guidance will also be updated.
The indoor rule of six and one-metre plus will be abolished, also meaning customers will no longer need to give their personal data when entering hospitality settings.
Mr Lord said that was "encouraging" news.
“The need for hospitality venues to capture the personal data of each customer not only put unnecessary pressure on staff to implement new systems, but has undoubtedly led to a reduction in trade as customers became disgruntled with the ritual,” he said.
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“I believe this process misled the public to believe hospitality venues were greater transmitters of the virus, when in fact there has been little to zero tracing protocols implemented in other settings and therefore incomparable data.”
He added he is also waiting for other measures in venues, such as capacity limits, one way systems and people banned from going to the bar to make orders, to be dropped.
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Care minister Helen Whately said that while Covid-19 infections are expected to rise, it was important that “every day more people (are) getting vaccinated”.
“What we do anticipate is we will continue to see infections rise as we open up more, as people are going about life more like normal,” she told Sky News.
“But the important thing here is every day more people (are) getting vaccinated.
“We are already in a position where 86% of adults have had their first dose, 63% have had their second dose – we expect by July 19 that will be over two-thirds of the adult population having had their second dose.
“So that’s far more protection from Covid.”