England prepares to take its biggest step out of coronavirus restrictions on Monday 17 May as the country moves to the third stage of the government’s lockdown exit roadmap.
Rules on hugging, meeting indoors, and gathering in bigger groups are all changing from this date – returning many freedoms which have been banned for over six months in some parts of the country.
The current national lockdown has been lifted gradually since March 8 – proceeding smoothly with a steady decline in national cases accompanied by a mass vaccination campaign.
April 12 saw the return of non-essential retail, outdoor hospitality, gyms, personal care premises, outdoor attractions and self-contained accommodation.
But mounting concern over the spread of a more infectious strain of COVID-19 had begun to cast doubt as to whether more restrictions could be lifted as intended on May 17.
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Testing and vaccinations have been ramped up in towns where cases are spiking such as Bolton, and local lockdowns are not yet being ruled out – with infection rates set to be closely monitored in the coming weeks to determine if different action is required in future.
But crucially, ministers have agreed to “cautiously” proceed with the roadmap as planned – with May 17 marking a memorable day on the 2021 calendar for everyone in England.
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Here’s what’s set to change.
Social contact
Some restrictions on social contact are being removed from May 17 / Image: Priscilla Du Preez via Unsplash
Restrictions on social contact are being removed from May 17.
Six people or two households can meet indoors from this date, whilst overnight stays are also allowed.
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Care home residents can also have up to five named visitors.
Gatherings of up to 30 people are now allowed outdoors.
Attendance numbers allowed at funerals are determined by the size of the venue.
Pubs, restaurants and cafes
Indoor hospitality is reopening from May 17 / Image: cottonbro via Pexels
Bars, restaurants, pubs and cafes right across the country are welcoming back customers this month.
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The hospitality sector is allowed to serve indoors from May 17 – having been operating on an outdoor-only basis since April 12.
Night Time Economy Adviser for Greater Manchester Sacha Lord embarked on a campaign to see the rules lifted earlier, and despite some initial success in helping convince judges to drop the substantial meal rule in pubs, his latest efforts to get indoor hospitality reopened sooner than May 17 were shut down in court.
Indoor service can resume from May 17 – although customers still have to order, eat and drink while seated.
Holidays can resume
Overseas travel and holidays will be permitted from May 17 / Image: Pexels
The door has reopened from domestic and international travel from May 17.
Hotels, hostels and B&Bs in England can take bookings for leisure purposes.
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Overseas holidays are also allowed again, but with restrictions. The government has introduced a travel system that categorises nations as ‘red’, ‘amber’ or ‘green’ depending on a number of risk factors – such as infection rates and the presence of variants.
The traffic light system is as follows:
Green: Arrivals will not need to quarantine when they arrive in England.
Amber: Arrivals must quarantine for 10 days when they arrive in England.
Red: Arrivals in England must stay for 10 days in a managed quarantine hotel.
Currently, a handful of countries have been added to the ‘green list’ – including Australia, New Zealand, Gibraltar, Iceland and Portugal.
Indoor culture and entertainment venues such as museums, theatres and cinemas all reopen from May 17 – with a big campaign launched in Manchester to welcome people back after 200 days of closures.
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Indoor adult group sports and exercise classes are allowed to recommence – with steam rooms and saunas also permitted to reopen.
Larger performances and sporting events with a reduced number of spectators will take place following a number of trial events this month.
From May 17, indoor venues can welcome up to 1,000 people or operate half-full (whichever is a lower number).
Outdoor venues can hold up to 4,000 people or operate at 50% capacity (whichever is a lower number).
In the largest outdoor seated venues, where crowds can be spread out, up to 10,000 people will be able to attend (or a quarter-full, whichever is lower).
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The roadmap to exiting lockdown can be found in full on the government website.
Featured image: WelcomeBackManchester
News
Oasis finally confirm ‘private ballot’ ticket information for reunion tour
Daisy Jackson
Oasis have just announced more information about how tickets will be sold through a ‘private ballot’ for their extra reunion tour dates.
The group added two additional shows at Wembley Stadium after their initial 17 gigs across London, Manchester, Dublin, Edinburgh and Cardiff generated huge demand and sold out in a day.
Oasis and Ticketmaster came under fire though for the use of dynamic pricing, which saw ticket prices shoot up by hundreds of pounds by the time people made it through the online queues.
For these additional reunion tour dates at Wembley, ticket sales will look a little different.
They’ll be using a ‘private ballot’, which will give first dibs to those who missed out on the first ticket sale.
You’ll only be invited to register for the sale if you signed into your Ticketmaster account on Saturday 31 August, and joined a queue for a specific show.
And you’ll only receive an invitation if you DIDN’T manage to bag tickets the first time round.
THEN you’ll be able to register for the actual ballot, which still doesn’t guarantee you a ticket but does at least get you into a (hopefully less lengthy) queue.
“Invitations to enter the private ballot will be sent overnight tonight (Saturday) to eligible fans we have been able to identify.
“If you signed into your Ticketmaster UK account on Saturday, 31st August, and were able to join a queue for a specific show, but didn’t get a ticket-then you may be eligible to take part and will receive an email on how to register for the ballot.
“Keep an eye on the inbox associated with your Ticketmaster account, and don’t forget to check your junkmail.
“Once successfully registered, you will be entered into the ballot for a code for access to the final Wembley on sale.
“Due to the demand for the shows and to avoid last week’s long queues, codes will be strictly limited. Entry to the ballot does not guarantee you will receive a code.
“The ballot is only open to invited fans. You must register with the email to which your invitation was sent and which is registered with your Ticketmaster account.
“All other entries will be discounted. If you do not receive an email then unfortunately you will not be eligible for the ballot.
“You will be automatically discounted from the ballot, even if you go through the registration process.”
Featured image: Simon Emmett
News
Manchester Airport named UK’s worst in annual Which? survey for third year running
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has officially been declared the worst airport in the UK, according to a new survey by Which?… yet again.
The summer travel season may be drawing to a close now, with hundreds of flights having taken off and landed in our region over the last couple of months, but for any Greater Manchester holidaymakers who are still yet to jet off, an annual ranking by consumer choice group Which? has proved to be pretty grim reading.
That’s because several terminals at the UK’s third largest airport have found themselves at the bottom of the list in Which? latest findings.
Manchester Airport has hit back at the survey and defended itself, saying its own passenger surveys suggest people are “much more positive” about the airport, adding that it was “proud to give people in all parts of the North easy and affordable access to nearly 200 different destinations across the world”.
For its annual survey, Which? spoke to nearly 7,000 passengers to gather feedback about their experiences of flying from UK airports over the last 12 months, and asked them to score the airports across 11 categories.
Manchester Airport has been named the worst in the UK for the third year running / Credit: The Manc Group
Some of these categories including seating, staff, toilets, and of course, the queues we all dread at check in, bag drop, passport control, and security.
And just like in both 2022 and again in 2023, it was Manchester Airport Terminal 3 that ranked right at the bottom, receiving the lowest customer satisfaction score of 37%.
Manchester Terminal 1 ranked one place above that with a score of 40%, while Manchester Terminal 2 was a little further up the the list with a score of 51%, and just saw Luton Airport, London Stansted, and Belfast International Airport sandwiched in between it.
According to Which?, some of the complaints it received about Manchester Airport from passengers who responded to the survey this year was that older people struggled with long walks due to travelators being broken since 2021, difficulties with finding a seat, and “horrendous” queues with people apparently being “corralled like cattle”.
As mentioned though, Manchester Airport has slammed Which?’s findings in a formal statement.
The UK’s third largest airport has hit back at the survey results and defended itself / Credit:
Describing the survey as “disappointing to see”, Manchester Airport’s statement reads: “We understand not every experience is perfect and want all passengers to feel able to raise their concerns directly with us. That is why we speak to them on a daily basis, surveying hundreds of people a month to get in-the-moment feedback from a full range of perspectives.
“That is in stark contrast to Which?, which conducted a tiny and unrepresentative survey of its members six months ago, asking them to recollect airport experiences that could have been as far back in time as April 2023.
“Which? fully understands that its readers form a narrow group of passengers whose views cannot in any way be taken to represent those of the travelling public at large, but chooses to promote its survey findings as if they do.”
Manchester Airport says it’s disappointing see Which? “chase cheap headlines” with its “sensational and over-simplified characterisation of airports” and the different roles they play, adding: “To make matters worse, it has printed inaccurate statements about our facilities and security waiting times that paint a more negative picture than reality.