How many people are able to meet up at once following the Government's latest lockdown and social distancing guidance?

Pubs, restaurants and hairdressers are just some areas of the hospitality industry that will be allowed to reopen on July 4 as England looks to take another step closer to returning to normality amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

The two-metre social distancing rule will also be relaxed to ‘one-metre plus’ as friends and families will now be able to reunite inside.

Here are the current guidelines on how many people can meet up together at once in England:

Groups of six people

Groups of up to six people from different households have been able to meet up outdoors since June 1. From Monday, July 6 this will be extended to include people who have been shielding.

This can be six people from any other number of households as long as only six are present and following social distancing guidance.

It is still advised that people practice the two-metre rule though this will be relaxed to one-metre plus from next month.

Support bubbles

Since Saturday, June 13, people living alone or single parents with children under-18 have been able to form support bubbles with one other household.

This has allowed two separate households to effectively form one household where social distancing guidelines do not have to be observed.

There is no limit to the number of people present in the household the individual is forming a support bubble with, but a single person cannot form a bubble with more than one household.

Two households

From July 4, people from two separate households of any size will be able to meet in any setting.

Families can be reunited with dinner parties and overnight stays to be allowed as England's coronavirus lockdown is eased – but millions of people will still be unable to hug their loved ones as social distancing rules between households should still be observed.

This is the key difference between the new ‘two household’ measures and the aforementioned ‘support bubble’ guidelines in which social distancing does not have to be adhered to.

There is no limit on the number of people who can meet inside, as long as they are only from two households and can observe the one-metre plus social distancing measures safely.

No more than two households will be allowed indoors together at the same time but there is no limit on the number of households you will be able to meet separately.

Pubs and restaurants

We will be able to drink and dine with people from one other household in a pub, restaurant or any other hospitality setting opening from July 4.

Pubs will collect contact details in order to ensure guidelines are being followed and people can be traced should an outbreak occur.

Weddings

Starting next month, up to 30 people from any number of households will be allowed to attend weddings once more.

Again, social distancing guidelines between separate households should be followed in all settings with the exception of support bubbles.

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