When does social distancing end?
6 May 2021, 16:11
What date might social distancing rules end in England? Here's everything we now...
Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, social distancing has become part of our daily lives.
The public is advised to keep at least one metre apart when meeting up outside, and pubs, restaurants and bars must also adhere to guidelines across the country.
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When he unveiled his roadmap out of lockdown for England, Boris Johnson said that the earliest possible date social distancing rules would be June 21.
Here's what we know about whether the plans will go ahead.
When will the rules on social distancing be lifted?
We don't yet know when social distancing rules will be lifted, but June 21 is the earliest possible date.
Last month, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that England is on course to lift social distancing rules by June, and Boris Johnson said earlier this week that there's a 'good chance' plans would go ahead.
Speaking on the campaign trail in Hartlepool, the PM said: "As things stand, and the way things are going, with the vaccine rollout going the way that it is — we have done 50million jabs as I speak to you today, quarter of the adult population, one in four have had two jabs.
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"You are seeing the results of that really starting to show up in the epidemiology. I think that we will be able to go ahead, feels like May 17 is going to be good.
"But it also looks to me as though June 21, we’ll be able to say social distancing as we currently have to do it, the one metre plus, I think we have got a good chance of being able to dispense with the one metre plus from June 21."
The Prime Minister urged caution, however, adding: "That is still dependent on the data. We can’t say it categorically yet. We have got to look at the epidemiology as we progress. We have got to look at where we get to with the disease. But that’s what it feels like to me right now."
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