Herefordshire businesses look towards Covid freedom day

Super Saturday, back on July 4, 2020, was the first time hairdressers, restaurants and pubs were allowed to open their doors since Covid-19 hit the UK hard four months earlier.

And now those same businesses, currently open since April 12 after the third national lockdown in England, are pinning their hopes on all restrictions being dropped on July 19.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson was forced to push back so-called freedom day by four weeks after being warned the move could lead to thousands of deaths and unbearable pressure on the NHS.

The Prime Minister announced the setback to the final phase of his plan to end the lockdown due to concerns over the rapidly spreading Delta variant, first identified in India.

To avert this, Mr Johnson said it was “sensible to wait just a little longer” as he put back the end of all legal limits on social contact to July 19, saying he was “confident” no further delay would be necessary.

Martin Peek, of the Grapevine in Kington, was left frustrated with capacity limits inside his indepedent town centre shop.

While he said it was necessary, he felt sorry for customers forced to wait outside.

“We’re open, but we’re still restricted to one person in the shop, so it hasn’t been easy,” he said.

“It’s so frustrating only having one person in the shop, but they’re the rules and we have to abide by them.

“To start with I was going down the street serving people, I found it hard for people waiting. The public have been very good, to be fair to them.

“It’s not funny seeing people stood outside when it’s raining. God bless them [the public], they’ve supported us, but I can’t wait for normality.”

Mr Peek said it was a relief Herefordshire Council listened to feedback before closing the high street as part of the active travel measures.

The council was handed money from the Government to make walking and cycling more appealing during the coronavirus pandemic, but the idea to close high streets across the county was dropped.

In Hereford, business improvement district chief executive Mike Truelove said the delay was “understandable, but certainly painful for many, especially the hospitality trade”, with table service rules and nightclub closures still in force.

For hairdressers, they’ve faced extra workload as they thoroughly clean salons between each use, something which last July, was just one of a whole host of new rules.

Shoppers returned in numbers to High Town in Hereford, as lockdown restrictions were eased on April 12. Picture: Rob Davies

Sarah Legdon, of Renaissance Hair and Beauty in Leominster’s Broad Street, she said most people were accepting of the rules, and she would keep a number of measures in place, even if she doesn’t need to.

The salon will still be cleaned between each customer, and it was likely staff would still be wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep everyone as safe as possible.

Last July, her staff faced longer days and opening on Sundays to tackle the backlog of people wanting haircuts. She said it had now smoothed out, but there were still limits on the salon’s capacity.

Renaissance Hair and Beauty staff in Leominster will continue wearing PPE after lockdown eases

“We’ve had good times because everyone wants to come and see us. The takings side of things has been pretty level over the last two months since we’ve been allowed back open,” she said.

“Before, it was like a huge rush and then we’d have lulls and quieter times.

“Since we’ve reopened it’s been really good, but we just can’t see as many people at once which is the downside.”

Herefordshire is one of only 18 of England 315 local authority areas not to see a rise in the coronavirus rate in the seven days to June 25, with just 38.4 cases per 100,000 people – down from 40.5 the week before.