England eases lockdown rules after almost 100 days

Bloomberg

Non-essential retailers as well restaurants with outdoor space reopened across England after almost 100 days of lockdown, hoping pent-up demand will translate into strong sales.
Retailers from luxury department store Harrods to budget fashion chain Primark have been lining up new spring and summer ranges, while restaurants have been buying tents to host outdoor gatherings in a bid to make up for lost time and sales.
“Today is a major step forward in our roadmap to freedom,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement. “I’m sure it will be a huge relief to those business owners who have been closed for so long.”
The reopening comes at a critical time as Britain eases out of lockdown while trying to maintain a rapid vaccination roll-out and avoid a new wave of Covid-19 outbreaks already taking hold in continental Europe. A second summer of pandemic curbs could devastate large parts of economy, particularly retail, hospitality and travel sectors, where the toll is already severe.
“One of the awful things that is going to become quite quickly apparent is how many shops have failed to reopen today,” said James Daunt, chief executive officer of Waterstones bookstores. “Lockdown has had an absolutely disastrous impact, and on specialty retailers in particular.”
The pandemic has raged in the UK, causing more than 127,000 deaths and forcing multiple lockdowns that have contributed to the worst economic downturn in three centuries. The current restrictions, coupled with a vaccine rollout that has delivered a first shot to more than half of all adults, has reversed the spread and fueled hopes for a return to normalcy.
Johnson has come under pressure from MPs in his own party to accelerate the re-opening of Britain’s economy, with virus cases, hospitalisations and deaths all sharply down and the vaccine program now reaching beyond the most vulnerable. The next major easing of rules will happen from May 17, when indoor hospitality will resume. The government’s aim is to then remove the remaining restrictions on social contact from June 21.