UK allows limited outdoor gatherings, relaxes lockdown rules

England entered the second phase of its lockdown easing on Monday thanks to a successful vaccination drive, but the government is urging vigilance as another wave of coronavirus sweeps Europe. After schools reopened on March 8, England's stay-at-home order has been relaxed to enable outdoor gatherings of up to six people, or two households. While elite sports such as Premier League football have continued during the latest lockdown -- minus fans -- the new rules will allow amateur team sports to resume, along with tennis, golf, basketball and outdoor swimming.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he hoped that Monday "will kick-start a Great British summer of sport -- with people of all ages reunited with teammates, and able to resume the activities they love". In a video message posted on Twitter, he urged people to enjoy their new freedoms cautiously. "It's vital that we don't overdo it and risk all the progress we've made," Johnson said, in a nod to Britain's much-reduced coronavirus infection, hospitalisation and death rates compared to earlier this year. In the third phase of reopening from April 12, the government plans to allow outdoor drinking in pub gardens, while hairdressers and non-essential retail will open in England.Limited indoor mixing in hospitality premises will be allowed from mid-May, while many other remaining restrictions will be lifted on June 21, if the outlook remains positive.

With more than 126,000 deaths, Britain has one of the world's worst mortality rates from the pandemic.But the level of new infections has been falling since early January and is now averaging around 5,000 cases a day. While conceding that continental Europe's latest wave of Covid-19 could hit Britain within weeks, Johnson said at the weekend that the "key difference" was the country's vaccination drive. "And as things stand, I can see absolutely nothing in the data to dissuade me from continuing along our roadmap to freedom," he added.