Thousands queue as Ikea reopens and pupils return to school
People have been queuing across the UK to get into Ikea and take children back to school as the government loosened more restrictions implemented due to the coronavirus crisis.
As of this morning, primary schools have reopened to pupils in receptions and years one and six, while some retailers like the Swedish store have been able to begin trading again.
After a ten-week hiatus due to the disease, open air markets have also been allowed to reopen as the government attempts to get the economy going again.
Huge queues formed at Ikea stores across the country as people took advantage of their new freedoms, with thousands of people waiting for doors to open at 9 this morning.
The retailer has reopened 19 stores across England and Northern Ireland from tomorrow, with click and collect facilities also opening in a phased approach.
A number of safety measures have been put in place to ensure social distancing in stores. A limited number of customers will be granted entry in stores at any one time.
However, some parents did not take their children back to school despite the reopening, amid fears that the government is lifting restrictions too fast.
The government has said that the coronavirus alert level is currently transitioning from four to three, the latter of which entails further steps to reopen the country.
However several members of scientific advisory group SAGE have warned that it is too soon for the government to take such steps.
At yesterday’s coronavirus press conference, housing secretary Robert Jenrick said that the government was “reasonably confident” about the steps it was taking but admitted there was “limited room to manoeuvre”.
And business secretary Alok Sharma this morning told the BBC that the government was taking “very cautious steps” at a “very sensitive moment”.
The number of newly confirmed cases of coronavirus slipped below 2,000 yesterday for the first time in months, but the actual rate of infection could remain around 8,000 per day, the Official of National Statistics has said.