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Pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland are welcoming customers for the first time since lockdown began in March.
Hotels, pubs and restaurants in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland that serve food at tables can now reopen indoors.
In Wales, pubs and restaurants are open again outdoors from 13 July and will reopen indoors from 3 August.
Is it safe to go to the pub?
Guidance has been issued in England,Scotland and Northern Ireland on measures that pubs and restaurants must take to keep customers and staff safe.
They include:
Meanwhile, the Wetherspoons pub chain has said its staff will be provided with face masks and protective eyewear and it will run a reduced food menu.
Bottles of ketchup and mayonnaise will be replaced by individual sachets. Customers will also be encouraged to sit outside in pub gardens, while some indoor seating areas will be separated by plastic screens.
Social distancing has been reduced from 2m (6ft) to 1m in Northern Ireland and from 2m to 1m plus in England. Restrictions apply in both cases.
Indoor pubs, cafes and restaurants in Scotland can apply for exemption from the 2m distancing rule, if they take certain steps.
Do I have to provide contact details if I eat out?
UK pub and hospitality trade bodies have published guidance for bars and restaurants on how to operate contact tracing.
- Contact details only need to be taken from one person in a group
- The details must be kept for 21 days
- Customers only need to give their name and phone number. Owners should also note their arrival time, and how long they stay
- Data can be taken in any way - on paper, online or during a phone booking
- People can refuse to give information, but owners can choose not to serve them
If a customer tests positive, will the pub or restaurant have to close?
Possibly, but not necessarily.
Official government advice says an NHS Test and Trace call does not always mean a pub or restaurant must close.
It depends on the circumstances and when the infected person visited.
NHS Test and Trace could ask staff to:
- get tested for Covid-19
- take extra care with social distancing
- self-isolate "in some circumstances"
Local health protection officials have the power to close establishments.
A few pubs in England, which reopened on 4 July, have closed after customers tested positive.
If you are contacted personally by NHS Test and Trace, you should follow the advice and be prepared to self-isolate for a fortnight.
How did the hospitality sector cope during lockdown?
The hospitality sector was the third-largest employer in the country in 2018, according to UK Hospitality.
But many restaurants and cafes were already struggling even before the Covid-19 outbreak, in the face of rising rents and falling consumer spending.
In the lockdown, job cuts and closures were announced by chains such as Frankie & Benny's and Carluccio's.
3rdlargest UK employer in 2018
3.2 millionworkers in the sector
99%of hospitality businesses are SMEs
£130bnannual turnover in 2018
67%expect it will be "months" before going to a restaurant
Thousands of workers in the industry have been furloughed under the government's job retention scheme, which allows them to receive 80% of their monthly salary up to £2,500.
The British Beer and Pub Association, which represents the pubs industry, said it welcomed the move to reopen businesses but called on pub-goers to support staff "to ensure everyone can enjoy the return of our pubs safely".