No "communal dancing", singing or laughing. No screaming on rollercoasters or making a cuppa for the plumber. The UK's new post-lockdown rules change daily life substantially.
On 4 July, England will see the biggest lifting of lockdown restrictions yet, with pubs, restaurants, hotels and other businesses opening to customers for the first time for months. The Daily Telegraph reports that the UK government has published new guidance that sets out how these businesses can operate, and it's clear a lot will have to change.
In a breakdown of how the rules will affect different sectors, pubs and other venues will be required to keep a list of their customers for 21 days, which can be requested by the NHS Test and Trace service to identify and contain localised outbreaks of COVID-19. Professional contact tracers can use these lists of customers to track down places where the virus could have been transmitted.
While some businesses, like nail bars, hairdressers and restaurants, may already have a record of their customers, pubs and bars are now encouraged to do the same. Squaring that guidance with data protection legislation could be difficult – and the government says more instructions will be released soon to make sure any records of customers’ data are legally compliant.
The report says propping up the bar and chatting to the barman will be against the rules too, as drinkers will be asked to stay at their tables, with waiting staff coming to them and serving diners and drinkers instead. The guidance says one member of staff should serve each table, and waiters should collect glasses and take them back to the bar.
Shouting in public spaces increases the risk of aerosol transmission of the virus, so all venues where customers might socialise are required to prevent people raising their voices as much as possible.
Other close contact activities, like “communal dancing”, are also banned, and the government suggests dancefloors are repurposed as seating areas to create more space for people to sit down. Live performances of any kind, including drama, comedy and music, are all prohibited for the foreseeable future.
The report says hotels with private rooms and en-suite bathrooms will be allowed to open from 4 July, but additional rules will apply to any accommodation with shared facilities.
Also, staff in “close contact” industries that include hairdressers, barber shops, beauty and nail bars, make-up salons, and tattoo and spray-tanning studios must follow rules on interacting with their customers at close quarters, including keeping haircut times and other treatment lengths “as short as possible” and using screens or barriers to separate clients from one another.
The report says the government would like all office workers to still work from home, unless it is essential they go into work in person. The guidance says it may be appropriate for people to go to work if their jobs are "critical for business and operational continuity, safe facility management, or regulatory requirements” and they cannot be done remotely.
And the guidance sets out the rules for repair services, fitters, meter readers, plumbers and cleaners, and asks that all workers maintain social distancing in other people’s homes. Making a cup of tea for your plumber is discouraged, as workers should bring their own food and drink. Internal doors should be left open so workers do not have to touch door handles, and they should take any breaks outside where possible.
At a glance
Things the public must not do
- Scream on rollercoasters
- Give cups of tea to workmen
- Sing along to music in public
- Go shopping in groups of friends
- Gather in groups of more than six outside
- Chat to the barman in the pub
- Read a magazine in the hairdressers
- Dance in public or in a bar
- Eat in the canteen at work
- Share pens, tools or work equipment
Things the public must now do
- Open all internal doors when cleaners visit
- Face the wall in lifts
- Collect hotel room service orders from outside the door
- Register with pubs and restaurants before entering
- Order food and drink using an app
- Book hair and beauty appointments online and do not arrive early
- Bring a packed lunch to work
- Pay with a contactless card where possible
- Maintain at least 1m distance from others
- Keep the windows open if driving with colleagues
[link url="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/06/24/new-normal-litany-rules-price-freedom/?WT.mc_id=e_DM1259795&WT.tsrc=email&etype=Edi_FPM_New_ES&utmsource=email&utm_medium=Edi_FPM_New_ES20200624&utm_campaign=DM1259795"]Full report in The Daily Telegraph[/link]