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The six key lockdown rule changes that come into effect from Saturday
There’s some big changes coming…
There will be some big changes to lockdown regulations coming into place from this weekend, including the reopening of shops and outdoor attractions.
Today, Boris Johnson announced that single households in England – people living alone and most single parents – can form a support bubble with another household from this Saturday.
Then from Monday, June 15th, non-essential shops, zoos, safari parks and drive-in cinemas can open, as long as businesses can meet social distancing and other safety measures.
Here’s the big changes coming to lockdown in England:
1. Zoos & Safari parks can reopen
Outdoor attractions such as zoos, safari parks and drive-in cinemas have been given the green light to open their doors from June 15th.
The attractions will have to introduce social distancing measures, turn cafes into takeaways and keep indoor exhibitions such as reptile houses closed.
2. All non-essential shops will reopen
Non-essential shops including clothing shops and car showrooms will be allowed to reopen if they can comply with social distancing rules. Other non-essential retail shops include: shoe, toy, furniture, book and electronic shops, tailors, auction houses, photography studios, indoor markets and loads more.
3. Places of worship can open for private prayer
Places of worships can open for private prayer from June 15th. Worship groups, weddings and other services are not yet permitted. Communal prayer is also not yet permitted until July 4th at the earliest.
4. Wearing a face covering is compulsory on public transport
From June 15th, anyone using public transport must wear face coverings. All hospital visitors and outpatients must also do the same. Face coverings can be scarves, bandannas or homemade face masks, but medical face masks are limited to hospital staff.
The government has advised to wash face coverings after every use, and to wear them in any other situation where social distancing cannot be successfully maintained.
5. Secondary schools can start to reopen
Secondary schools and colleges in England can now provide face-to-face support to Year 10 and Year 12 pupils, as well as 16-19-year-olds who are set to take their exams next year.
Only a quarter of pupils will be able to attend at any one time. GCSE and A-Levels exams are expected to go ahead as normal next year. 
6. Certain people can form social ‘bubbles’
To combat loneliness, from Saturday single households in England – people living alone and most single parents – can form a support bubble with another household, and can visit and stay overnight at each others houses.
Essentially, the two households will form a ‘bubble’ and will be able to act like they live together, and not have to follow two-metre distancing. You’ll only be able to choose one household to form the bubble with.
The Prime Minister said tonight: “There are too many people, particularly those who live by themselves who are lonely and struggling with being unable to see friends and family.
“From this weekend we will allow single adult households, living alone, or single parents with children under 18, to form a support bubble with one other household.”
Single people includes anyone who lives alone, as well as single mums or dads with any number of children under 18.
Unfortunately, anyone who is shielding will not be able to form a support bubble at this point.
Commuters could be facing the steepest rise in the cost of train travel in more than a decade just months after prices were already increased.
It has been predicted today that train prices across England and Wales could rise by nearly 5% before the New Year.
The 2021 rise in prices was delayed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic when train travel was at an all-time low, however, tickets still saw a price rise of 2.6% in March.
Abhijit Tembhekar / Flickr
And this morning, the Retail Prices Index for July 2021 was confirmed as 3.8% by the Office for National Statistics, meaning passengers could see fares rise by 4.8% in 2022, which would be the largest hike since 2012.
This means that the cost of rail travel could increase twice within ten months, and would see a Manchester-Glasgow off-peak return rise by £6.30 to £94.90, according to Metro.
Though all hope isn’t yet gone – changes to the fares in 2022 are still yet to be confirmed.
Jon David Houghton / Wikimedia Commons
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “No decision has been made on national rail fares.
“The government is considering a variety of options and we will announce our decision in due course.”
This news has come as train travel in Manchester and beyond is on the rise – earlier this month, we reported that zero cases of Covid were found in Manchester Piccadilly Train Station, despite thousands of commuters using the station’s services as offices reopen.
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