James Forsyth James Forsyth

How Boris Johnson plans to reopen the country

Next week, the government will set out what the reopening will look like. I understand that the current plan is for a comprehensive reopening; though the formal decision on whether to proceed with the 19 July unlocking will only be taken the week before.

As I say in the magazine this week, the one-metre rule will be ditched, masks will no longer be compulsory and venues will be allowed to operate at full capacity again. The aim is that all legal restrictions will be removed apart from the requirement to isolate for people who test positive for Covid. Test and Trace will continue to ping those who have been in contact with the infected, but for most people tests should be sufficient to allow them to continue their daily business.

The challenge will be to explain to people why it is safe to go ahead with the reopening when case numbers are still rising

The challenge for the government will be to explain to people why it is safe to go ahead with the reopening when case numbers are still rising.

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