Gyms, hairdressers and beauty salons will be allowed to reopen across all tier levels from next month, Boris Johnson has announced.

The Prime Minister outlined the new rules for when lockdown ends in his statement to the House of Commons today.

He confirmed lockdown will end on December 2, when areas will be put under local restrictions once again.

Facilities including swimming pools and gyms as well as hairdressers and nail bars were closed when England was plunged into its second national shut-down.

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Before then some were already forced to close in areas under the toughest level of restrictions, but this will no longer be the case under the new tiered system coming into force on December 3.

The PM told MPs: ‘From next Wednesday people will be able to leave their home for any purpose and meet others in outdoor public spaces, subject to the rule of six, collective worship, weddings and outdoor sports can resume, and shops, personal care, gyms and the wider leisure sector can reopen.

‘But without sensible precautions, we would risk the virus escalating into a winter or New Year surge.

‘The incidents of the disease is, alas, still widespread in many areas.’

Mr Johnson said that when the regional tiers are allocated – ‘hopefully’ on Thursday – more places are set to be in the strictest level.

‘I’m sorry to say we expect that more regions will fall at least temporarily into higher levels than before but by using these tougher tiers and by using rapid turnaround tests on an ever greater scale to drive R below one and keep it there, it should be possible for areas to move down the (tier) scale to lower levels of restrictions,’ he said.

Despite recent breakthroughs in coronavirus vaccines and mass testing, Mr Johnson said England will face tiered coronavirus restrictions until the end of March.

He said the new system will be tougher than the previous one, with pubs and restaurants in tier three only allowed to open as takeaways.

Under the new system the key changes are:

• In Tier 2, alcohol may only be served in hospitality settings as part of a substantial meal.
• In Tier 3, pubs and restaurants will only be able to offer takeaway and delivery services, while indoor entertainment, hotels and other accommodation will close.
• The 10pm curfew will be relaxed, with last orders now closed at that time and premises ordered to shut at 11pm.

The tiered system will be reviewed every 14 days, with the allocation dependent on a number of factors including each area’s case numbers, reproduction rate – or R number – and the current and projected pressure on the local NHS.

Mr Johnson said all areas placed in the toughest lockdown level will be offered mass testing, adding that a ‘very substantial fall in infections’ has occurred in Liverpool after more than 200,000 people took part in a pilot community testing scheme.

He said: ‘Together with NHS Test and Trace and our fantastic armed forces, we will now launch a major community testing programme offering all local authorities in Tier 3 areas in England [with] a six-week surge of testing.

‘The system is untried and there are of course many unknowns, but if it works we should be able to offer those who test negative the prospect of fewer restrictions, for example meeting up in certain places with others who have also tested negative.

‘Those towns and regions which engage in community testing will have a much greater chance of easing the rules, the tiering they currently endure.’

Mr Johnson said daily testing will also be used as part of attempts to ‘end automatic isolation’ for close contacts of those testing positive for Covid-19.

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