Many non-essential shops in Norwich are planning to reopen their shops in recent weeks as the situation with the UK epidemic improves and the lockdown eases further.

After the road map for easing coronavirus restrictions earlier in the month, prime minister Boris Johnson provided an update on England’s lockdown restrictions on Thursday 28 May. PM announced that the plans for easing the lockdown are continuing and England will have “limited and cautious” changes. According to the ease lockdown measures in the strategy document, Our Plan to Rebuild, which was released by the government, the “step two” is now in progress.

The measures on “step two” are for England. Boris Johnson said that Non-essential shops will begin to re-open from 1 June beginning with outdoor retail and car showrooms where social distancing measures are easier. The government said that from 15 June, all non-essential stores will be allowed to reopen based on being able to guarantee social distance and hygiene standards. By then, many shops in Norwich are already planning to reopen.

Jarrolds, as one of Britain’s biggest independent stores, has a five-floor department store in the centre of Norwich, which is 250-year-old. It has recently announced that it will reopen to customers on 15 June after being shut for 12 weeks due to the Covid-19 lockdown. However, the restaurants and cafes inside the mall will remain closed at that time. Coffee and bread deli on the basement level will be available for take-out. Also, in addition to implementing strict security measures, they are considering reducing their hours of operation.

Speaking to BBC news, the chief executive of Jarrold Retail, Minnie Moll said: “Lockdown has certainly been a huge challenge and now we face the new challenge of trading in a very different environment while keeping our brand experience strong.”

The Castle Quarter has also begun to prepare for reopening non-essential stores. In preparation for opening, a One-Way System will be in place to help people maintain a social distance. Speaking to Eastern Daily Press, the centre manager Robert Bradley said:” We are very pleased now to see the first signs of more shops reopening and are delighted to be able to welcome customers back soon. However, the safety and health of all our customers, staff and retailers’ staff remains paramount and we are currently putting in place all measures to ensure that social distancing is maintained throughout the centre.”

Associated British Foods (ABF), which owns Primark, has also announced on the morning of 1 June that all of its Primark shops in England will be reopening on 15 June. This includes sites in Norwich’s Haymarket and in King’s Lynn.

Also, measures taken by Chapelfield as it successively opens its stores may include restricting foot traffic, requiring customers to follow marked routes, offering free No-wash hand sanitizer and so on.

The latest data of Covid-19 in the UK showed that there have been 286194 confirmed cases in total and 1362 new confirmed cases by 7 June.