{"id":164423,"date":"2021-07-19T15:05:17","date_gmt":"2021-07-19T14:05:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chrisw92.sg-host.com\/?p=164423"},"modified":"2024-03-28T06:11:49","modified_gmt":"2024-03-28T06:11:49","slug":"smes-reacting-freedom-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/smes-reacting-freedom-day","title":{"rendered":"How SMEs are reacting to ‘Freedom Day’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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England on Monday lifted almost all of the remaining restrictions, including an indoor mask mandate, despite there being almost 48,000 cases who have tested positive in the UK<\/a>, the decision is set to continue with the next stage of the Conservative’s roadmap. However, although cases are on the rise, the rate of hospital admissions and deaths have indeed not followed the same steep incline. As the clock struck midnight, many nightclubs up and down the country opened their doors to the glee of many, but are all of the country’s SMEs following in the same foot steps? We find out.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Throughout the pandemic, Night Time Economy Adviser for Greater Manchester, Sacha Lord has been an advocate for the hospitality sector, making appearances on television and openly stating on his social media accounts that hospitality have been forgotten about throughout the past 16 months, “burdened with debt and struggling to keep their heads above water” as he dejected only 2 months ago on LinkedIn. So now it’s the 19th July – a month later than promised by the Prime Minister – what happens now? Simply put, it is up to the discretion of the business owner as to how they approach the restrictions.<\/p>\n

Some are even describing so-called ‘Freedom Day’ as ‘Choice Day’. As the date approached, several major companies including Waterstone, TFL and The City Pub Group have announced that they will still be asking customers to continue wearing face coverings.<\/p>\n

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Following the lift of restrictions on 19 July across England, we will observe new government guidance. Given our enclosed browsing environment, we encourage our customers to wear face masks and observe social distancing, respecting the safety of staff and fellow book lovers<\/p>\n

— Waterstones (@Waterstones) July 13, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n