The Daily Telegraph

Zoos can reopen to public from Monday

Government responds to pleas from country’s most popular attraction­s as family days out return

- By Gordon Rayner POLITICAL EDITOR said:

Zoos and safari parks in England will be allowed to open from Monday, Boris Johnson will announce today, in a move that could save some of the nation’s best-loved attraction­s from closure. Zoos had taken a financial battering from lockdown because of the continuing cost of looking after animals without any revenue coming in, and some had warned they were on the brink of going bust. The reopening comes on the same day that high streets are allowed to reopen.

‘It will give families more options, while supporting the industry caring for these incredible animals’

ZOOS and safari parks in England will be allowed to open from Monday, Boris Johnson will announce today, in a move that could save some of the nation’s best-loved attraction­s from closure.

Zoos had taken a financial battering from lockdown because of the continuing cost of looking after animals without any revenue coming in, and some had warned they were on the brink of going bust.

Their reopening – on the same day that high streets are allowed to reopen – will give families a chance to enjoy days out that have been banned since March.

However, indoor exhibits, such as reptile houses, must remain closed, and cafés on the premises will be takeaway only. Aquariums cannot yet open as they are largely indoors.

Other attraction­s that do not require people to leave their cars, such as drive-in cinemas, can also open from Monday. Cerian Tatchley, senior manager of the British and Irish Associatio­n of Zoos and Aquariums, said he was “very pleased” that the Government had responded to the pleas of zoo owners to be allowed to reopen.

He said “stringent safety measures” had been put in place to make premises Covid secure, and that zoos were “itching” to open their doors.

He added: “As a sector we are not out of the woods yet. All of our members have taken a huge financial hit, with some having to restructur­e and even implement job losses. We will continue to push for financial aid for zoos, safari parks and aquariums because we know we are stronger as a community.”

A Downing Street spokesman

“We hope the reopening of safari parks and zoos will help provide families with more options to spend time outdoors, while supporting the industry caring for these incredible animals.”

Yesterday Alok Sharma, the Business Secretary, confirmed that shops can reopen on Monday, enabling high streets to “spring back to life”.

He said: “We have all got used to shopping with social distancing. Now is the right time to apply these principles more widely to more shops, as we continue our cautious reopening of the economy.”

Shops will be able to open as long as they comply with Government guidelines that include perspex screens to protect staff at tills, hand sanitiser at entrances and controls on the number of people in the shop at any time.

Frequently touched objects, such as sofas, will have to have protective coverings, surfaces will have to be regularly cleaned, and any goods returned to shops, or clothes that people try on without buying, will have to be quarantine­d for 72 hours.

Department stores, book shops, electronic­s retailers, clothes shops, shoe shops, auction houses, photograph­y studios, indoor markets and toy shops will be among the retailers allowed to open on June 15 after almost three months in lockdown.

Hairdresse­rs, nail salons and beauty salons remain closed, with July 4 currently pencilled in as the earliest opening date for them.

Mr Sharma also appeared to kill off speculatio­n that pubs could be allowed to open beer gardens as early as June 22, saying that the Government was continuing to follow its road map which sets out a date of July 4 “at the earliest” for pubs and restaurant­s to reopen.

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