The high street bakery chain announced that it was to temporarily close all of its outlets last month in order to protect customers and staff from Covid-19. But yesterday, a Greggs spokesperson said: “We are planning to conduct a limited trial with volunteers to explore how we can reopen our shops with new measures in place that keep our colleagues and customers as safe as we can when we reopen at scale.”
It is not yet clear when the stores will be opened or how many will take part.
The announcement will see Greggs join other big-name food outlets such as KFC, McDonald’s and Burger King in tentatively reopening some branches.
KFC has reopened only at a distance; customers can only get food delivered, and even then only from 15 branches. Burger King has done the same, except with an even smaller number of four branches.
And McDonald’s has said it was looking into reopening for delivery and drive-thru orders in mid-May, the Irish Famer’s Journal claims.
It should be noted that the reopening of food outlets for delivery does not mean that the government has decided to ease any lockdown measures.
In fact, current lockdown guidelines state that food outlets can remain open for business as long as it is for delivery or collection only.
The government states in its guidelines: “Food delivery and takeaway can remain operational and can be a new activity supported by the new permitted development right.
“This covers the provision of hot or cold food that has been prepared for consumers for collection or delivery to be consumed, reheated or cooked by consumers off the premises.”
Meanwhile cafes and canteens at hospitals, police stations and other emergency service locations can remain open, as can other workplace canteens “where there are no practical alternatives”.
And services that provide food or drink to homeless people are also permitted to operate.
Hardware stores can stay open too, which led B&Q to reopen 155 of its UK stores last week despite the fact that lockdown measures remain firmly in place.
The total amount reopened followed a trial of 14 stores the weekend prior and further openings throughout the week.
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It has employed social distancing measures including limiting the number of people in the store at one time.
And some manufacturing firms including carmakers JLR and Aston Martin have announced plans to kick start UK production lines.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said that social distancing measures in the UK would remain for “some time” as the country yesterday reported 20,000 deaths from Covid-19.
However, the Telegraph claims that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce plans for easing the country’s lockdown measures as early as this week.
The Prime Minister arrived in Downing Street last night after spending two weeks recovering from his Covid-19 infection.
The paper reported that Mr Johnson had discussed “modifying” the lockdown, as opposed to lifting it, with ministers.
Despite the claims, Dominic Raab has said that it would be “misleading” to the public if specific proposals for lifting social distancing measures were lifted before there was evidence to support them, the BBC reports.
And Mr Raab told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that the country would be “moving to a new normal” rather than a complete lifting of all measures eventually.
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