Businesses and leaders in the North West have reacted to Boris Johnson's "roadmap" to ease lockdown restrictions across England.
The Prime Minister outlined the plans to the House of Commons before addressing the nation.
A full explanation of the four-step plans can be read here.
Sacha Lord, night time economy adviser for Greater Manchester, said: "I extend an open invitation to the Government to visit the North, in particular the most working class areas of Greater Manchester which rely on their local, traditional pubs and social clubs for a sense of community and to stave off isolation and loneliness.
"The vast majority of these pubs do not have beer gardens, a luxury only reserved for middle class areas who have the space and financial capabilities. It is once again the working class who are hardest hit by the decisions coming from Westminster during this pandemic.
"Secondly. For the operators across the 海角视频 who can trade outdoors, breaking even is not a possibility here. They cannot pay rents, rates and bills or afford to take staff off furlough if they are only serving to 10% capacity. Many will simply choose not to reopen.
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"With 'data not dates' being touted as the reasoning behind decisions, we see no reason why indoor hospitality cannot reopen at the same time as non-essential retail.
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"The hospitality sector has spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on ensuring venues are Covid secure and we still have no data to confirm they are a high risk area of transmission. I see no justification for the delay in reopening.
"Lastly, we need urgent clarity on the financial support operators will have access to, and cannot afford to wait until the Chancellor's budget is announced in ten days.
"Asking business owners to wait in limbo to find out if they can financially survive and afford to keep their livelihoods, will be terrifying and have huge implications on mental health and stress and anxiety for owners and their employees."
Paul Cherpeau, chief executive of Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, added: "Businesses will welcome today’s announcement which goes some way to giving them the reassurance and clarity they need to enable them to plan ahead after months of restrictions and uncertainty.
"We look forward to further details in the coming weeks, including the Budget next week, to fully understand the process of reopening.
"The successful roll out of the vaccine programme has brought a much needed sense of optimism in what has been a dismal winter.
"We must aim for the same level of efficiency and collaboration for our testing and track and trace system to given businesses and customers confidence that we can gradually reopen the economy safely and consistently.
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"We very much welcome the phased reopening our schools and further education facilities and we will be looking for further commitment from the government to enable an unprecedented catch-up programme for school children and young people who have felt the full brunt of the pandemic.
"Considerable challenges remain for many industries in the weeks and months ahead. Recapitalising businesses, particularly those directly impacted by forced closures or trading below break-even, will require a concerted effort between the private and public sectors to ensure viable businesses can genuinely rebuild and, in the process, create jobs and sustainable growth and we will be pressing the government for more clarity on the type and length of financial support measures for those businesses still unable to operate at full capacity in the coming months."
Ian Watson, the chief executive of Skelmersdale-headquartered Hotter Shoes, said: "It's good to see a route map for the reopening of non-essential retail, however I worry it is still lacking in confirmed dates and reliant on many ifs and buts.
"Hotter was lucky to pre-empt the downturn of the high street early on in the pandemic enabling us to shift online and as such, we saw an increase in online sales for 2020 putting us in a good position to weather the storm.
"However, we still have a substantial store portfolio across the 海角视频 and like all in retail, urgently need to understand the confirmed dates and criteria we are working to, not only so that we can prepare the business internally, but in order to care for our staff and our suppliers effectively.
"Our retail staff have been in limbo for the majority of the past 12 months, and now need clarity on when they will be returning to work.
"I would also like to see further discussion on the reasoning behind the opening of supermarkets, who have been allowed to continue trading in clothing, footwear and other non-essential products, and the delays in reopening other retailers who have spent thousands on Covid-safe measures.
"We need to ensure a level playing field across the sector, where high street stores and independents who have been the worst hit during this pandemic, are given the same opportunities to trade and survive as larger stores."
Damian Waters, CBI North West director, added: "The Prime Minister’s roadmap offers hope that the country can get back to business in the coming months.
"The roadmap is a good starting point to the hard yards ahead and caution is rightly the watchword. Businesses in the North West back the step-by-step approach to re-opening and an end to damaging stop-start restrictions.
"And getting children back into the classroom first is as much a priority for business as it is for families across the country.
"We now need to turn this roadmap into genuine economic momentum. The Budget is the second half of this announcement – extending business support in parallel to restrictions will give firms a bridge to the other side.
"This is particularly needed for sectors who will have to wait for up to three months to re-open and have an anxious 10 days ahead before the Budget.
"Meanwhile businesses are committed to working with government to refresh practical guidance for firms and to fast-track the roll out of tests in workplaces in the months ahead.
"With good news coming every day on the vaccines, the roadmap offers a pragmatic and safe route out of lockdown in England. North West businesses will play their full part in doing so with public health in mind and the confidence to kickstart a recovery."
Adrian Ellis, chair of the Manchester Hotelier’s Association said: “The roadmap is generally very positive with clear guidelines and timescales announced today. Whilst hospitality wants to open as soon as possible, we respect the need for careful caution and of course none of us want to implicate a return to further lockdowns later this year.
"I am extremely pleased to hear that we are not returning to tiers and that the curfew and ‘meals with drinks’ restrictions will be lifted.
"All parts of our business will be operational from May 17, which is a date to work towards and the strategy outlined today we hope will provide confidence for guests to start booking stays and encourage the much needed resurgence of business.”
Carl Williams, practice leader at Grant Thornton in the North West, said: “We welcome the Government’s announcement and recognise that for anyone craving a sense of how we can get to grips with the pandemic and live without lockdowns there is now a timetable and light at the end of the tunnel.
"We all still share the responsibility of protecting ourselves, our communities and the NHS - infection rates are still very high, and the virus remains a threat.
"As lockdown measures are removed it’s possible that infection rates could increase so it’s really important that people continue to follow all the rules.”
Neil Murray, CEO of Liverpool-based Impact Data Metrics, said: “The milestones that will take us out of lockdown all rest on the importance of having high quality information around transmission rates and other key factors and communicating that well to the country.
"There is always a tension between how much data you need to share to ensure transparency - and going too far and just confusing everyone. The government has really struggled with this throughout the pandemic.
"It’s got to get it right now because clarity and certainty are going to be really important ingredients of the economic recovery the nation desperately needs.”
Andrew Ruffler, CEO of Professional Liverpool, said: “This latest and hopefully last lockdown has been challenging for everyone, but the remarkable progress made with the vaccine roll-out means there is at last line of sight for what the rest of this year could look like, and from May 17 a realistic hope that the hugely important visitor economy could start to come back to life.
"By the summer we have a chance of something much closer to the way we lived and worked before the pandemic. We don’t expect a mass return to the workplace but the start of this more flexible, hybrid model, with safety concerns still factored in."
Jamie Scahill, co-founder of Manchester Union Brewery, added: "We welcome the news of the roadmap out of lockdown today but there needs to be a commitment of more financial help to assist breweries through until when pubs can open fully in May.
"Trade wise it’s going to be a slow start and most breweries will be running on reserve after the last 12 months."