The two-metre rule is to be relaxed once coronavirus infections fall sufficiently to open up the hospitality sector.
Pubs, restaurants and cafés are waiting for detailed guidance from the business department on how they can open securely from July 4, the date set in the “road map” after which elements of the sector can start to reopen as long as the virus remains under control.
Senior officials said that the guidance could retain the two-metre rule initially, but alternative guidance on smaller distances was being prepared for when the rule was relaxed. A cabinet minister said the government faced a choice of whether to delay publication of the guidance until the rule was relaxed or press on with the earliest possible reopening despite warnings that
