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Apr 12, 2021 - World

Brits flock to pubs for first time in months as U.K. lockdown eases

headshot
People riding a single bike together through an empty street.

A cyclist rides with a friend along Regent Street as non-essential shops reopen in London on Monday. Photo: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty Images

People in England are enjoying some semblance of normalcy — and pouring their first pints in public — after COVID-19 restrictions eased at midnight Monday, allowing non-essential locations like salons, gyms and pubs to reopen for the first time since January.

Why it matters: Britain's partial reopening has come amid one of the world's most successful vaccination campaigns, sharply curbing a COVID-19 outbreak that has killed more people than in any other country in Europe.

  • 40 million doses have been administered in the U.K., with over 48% of people receiving at least their first dose, according to Bloomberg's vaccine tracker.
  • The next phase in England's reopening roadmap will see the return of indoor entertainment and possibly international travel on May 17, assuming certain criteria are met. The government is aiming to lift all restrictions on social contact on June 21.

In photos

Two people carry bags in an empty street.
Shoppers carry bags in central London Monday. Photo: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty Images
A person drinking alone at a pub.
A customer drinks in an outdoor seating area in Warwick, U.K., on Monday. Photo: Darren Staples/Bloomberg via Getty Images
People putting Two glasses with beer together.
Terry Morris, mayor of Warwick, right, and Mandy Littlejohn, cheers with their drinks in an outdoor seating area set up in the car park of The Old Fourpenny Shop Hotel in Warwick, U.K., on Monday Photo: Darren Staples/Bloomberg via Getty Images
A person carrying a bag walking down the street.
A shopper on Oxford Street in London. Photographer: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty Images
A person walking into a restaurant.
Customers at the reopening of the Figure of Eight pub, in Birmingham, U.K. Photo: Jacob King/PA Images via Getty Images
Two people sititng at a table and drinking.
Customers enjoy a drink at an outside table after the Half Moon pub re-opened in east London Photo: Niklas Hallen'n/AFP via Getty Images
Man enjoying two beers
John Witts enjoys a drink at the reopening of the Figure of Eight pub, in Birmingham. Photo: Jacob King/PA Images via Getty Images
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