The UK Government has announced the post-lockdown measures for the retail, public transport and airport sectors.
With the approach of May 7, the UK Government makes post lockdown measures to get Britain to get to work. A ban on hot-desking and employee “health passports” are among them. Not only that, but it also proposes closing office lifts and canteens and putting tape on the floor to mark where people should stand.
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Post lockdown measures in the UK
Extra cleaning should be introduced in office spaces and the use of protective equipment should be considered where maintaining a distance of two meters between workers is not possible.
For customer-facing employees should be guarded by plastic screens, while continued home working and staggered shifts should also be encouraged.
The proposals by the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) are among a list of guidelines in seven documents drawn up after the consultation with executives, trade bodies and unions. The document also asks millions of companies to draw up Covid-19 “risk assessment” before allowing staff to return to work.
Retail
Last month, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) published guidance for measures that retail stores could introduce to help with the transition once restrictions are lifted. The recommended measures include limiting entry and exit points, using floor markings to outline social distancing, and keeping changing rooms closed. The guidance also suggests installing cleaning stations with hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes at the front of stores.
Public transport
One of the biggest issues for many people, as they prepare to return to the office, is public transportation. Transport Secretary Grant Shapp said that an increase of bus and train timetables will be implemented to help the public transport system cope with an influx of passengers while still adhering to social distancing recommendations. They also will expand the number of trains and busses running. He also pointed to active transport methods such as cycling as a way for people to take more personal responsibility for their welfare.
Airports
Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye has warned that the nation’s major international airports do not have enough space for social distancing to be a solution for safe travel post-lockdown. Instead, Mr Holland-Kaye believes mandatory health checks for passengers, increased levels of hygiene, and compulsory face masks would be more realistic options to enable airports to reopen and air travel to resume.
