Urging people to stay vigil as another wave of coronavirus is sweeping Europe, England allowed outdoor gatherings of up to six people or two households, as the second phase of its lockdown easing on Monday. This comes after England hailed its vaccination drive against coronavirus a success. 

England reopened schools on March 8 in the first phase of lockdown ease and the nation’s stay-at-home order will further be relaxed with outdoor gatherings now allowed, a step that was dubbed by newspapers as “Happy Monday.”

The new rules will allow amateur team sports to resume, a step in which tennis, golf, basketball, and swimming outdoors will start. Despite lockdown, elite sports such as Premier League football have continued but without spectators. 

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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”.

The UK PM urged people to “remain cautious” and adhere to the guidance on social distancing and hygiene amid the rise in coronavirus cases across Europe. He said new variants of the virus are “threatening” Britain’s vaccine rollout.

England is planning to allow outdoors drinking in pub gardens and non-essential retail from April 12, in the third phase of lockdown easing.

With more than 126,000 deaths, Britain has one of the world’s worst mortality rates from the pandemic.

But on Sunday it passed the milestone of inoculating more than 30 million adults with the first dose of coronavirus vaccine, and the government intends to lift the lockdown fully in June.