UK set for hugs, indoor dining as COVID curbs further relaxed

Restrictions to be loosened in line with government plan as vaccinations drive down cases.

England will move ahead with plans to ease further COVID-19 restrictions on May 17, including allowing people to hug and meet indoors, thanks to favourable data on infections and vaccines, the government said on Sunday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will hold a news conference on Monday afternoon to announce the details of the third step in the United Kingdom’s “roadmap” out of the crisis, following discussions with colleagues and advisers in the morning. “The data reflects what we already knew – we are not going to let this virus beat us,” Johnson said, according to a Downing Street statement.