Residents of England will be able to hug one another again from May 17 as the country announces another round of COVID-19 lockdown easing.
Hugs and other forms of human contact were disallowed in the country since COVID-19 restrictions were put in place in March 2020, at the onset of the pandemic.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed on Monday that allowing hugs is part of the easing measures of the lockdown that will come into effect from May 17.
Others include the reopening of pubs and restaurants indoors as well as cinemas and hotels and allowing two households to meet up inside a home.
However, the Prime Minister stressed that people should remain cautious and steer clear of actions capable of increasing the country’s coronavirus numbers again.
Coronavirus numbers in the U.K. have gone down from a daily peak of nearly 70,000 in January to around 2,000 new coronavirus cases a day following the country’s efficient vaccination system.
