The UK is readying to ease the lockdown. From Monday, June 1, citizens in England will be allowed to meet in groups of up to six people in outdoor spaces, like parks or private gardens, while keeping a two-meter distance. In Scotland, members of two different households - up to eight people - are allowed to meet outdoors if they maintain social distancing. In Wales, people from two different households will be able to meet each other outdoors from Monday while maintaining social distancing. Groups of up to six people who are not in the same household can meet outdoors in Northern Ireland if they stay two meters apart, according to the BBC.
Despite the social distancing measures, there are still fears of a second spike in the UK.
Local outbreaks of the novel coronavirus could be met with local lockdowns, a British government minister said Sunday as health authorities announced that another 113 people died of COVID-19 across the UK over the past 24 hours.
The Department of Health said on Twitter: 'As of 9 am 31 May, there have been 4,285,738 tests, with 115,725 tests on 30 May. 274,762 people have tested positive,
'As of 5 pm on 30 May, of those tested positive for coronavirus in the UK, 38,489 have sadly died.'
Earlier in the day, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab suggested that if infections again rose in certain areas, the government could introduce local lockdowns.
'What we really want to avoid is any re-entering of the lockdown,' Raab told the BBC.
'If we had a second spike, in the way you've described, it would obviously be bad on public health grounds but it would be bad for the economy and I think it would be bad for public confidence,” he added.
The pandemic has claimed over 370,000 lives in 188 countries and regions, with more than 6 million cases reported worldwide and recoveries exceeding 2.58 million, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.
A poll by Make UK, which represents manufacturers in the UK, said that a quarter of companies are planning to cut jobs within the next six months and that another 45% of manufacturers are considering terminating employment in general.
Easy Jet announced plans for 3,000 job cuts last week. Last month Virgin Atlantic revealed plans for 3,000 job cuts and British Airways for the termination of 12,000 jobs.
However, less than a third, 30%, of manufacturers said they would not cut staff at all.
Despite strategies to ease the lockdown, the UK is preparing for economically difficult days ahead.