It’s official now. On the 4th of July British pubs, restaurants, hotels, hairdressers, cinemas and museums will fully reopen for the first time since March.
“4th of July” immediate became the most popular trend on UK Twitter, with netizens flooding social media with memes outlining their plans for the date. For many, the main event is not only the return to pubs, albeit with a one-metre social distancing guideline in place, but also a long-anticipated - and probably very necessary - visit to a hairdresser.
Not all of the shared posts had a celebratory mood though. Neither indoor sport facilities nor nail bars have been given the green-light to reopen yet and many gym-goers were crying over the government’s decision to leave them without the chance to flex their muscles. Night clubs, massage parlours and tattoo salons are also still awaiting a re-opening date.
Boris Johnson’s announcement of the easing of lockdown came following UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s statement that the coronavirus was “in retreat across the country”. Leisure and hospitality businesses have been shut down in the UK since 23 March.