More than a thousand new cases in the UK as non-essential retail outlets re-open in England
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The United Kingdom’s death toll from confirmed cases of COVID-19 rose by 38 to 41,736 as of 1600 GMT on June 14, according to government data released on Monday.
There were 1,056 new cases today taking the nation’s tally to 296,857.
Meanwhile, a number of outlets were allowed to re-open after more than eighty days of lockdown. Department stores, clothing retailers, electrical outlets, bookshops and other non-essential stores have been closed since March 23 when Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed a lockdown to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
Queues formed from early morning outside several branches of Primark, which does not sell online so has not made a penny in the UK for months.
The chain reopened some of its stores early, including its biggest in Birmingham, to avoid overcrowding as hundreds of people lined up outside. At its Leeds store, the estimated afternoon wait time to get in was up to an hour.
There was also a big queue outside the Nike Town store on London’s Oxford Street, the capital’s busiest shopping street, with many shoppers ignoring social distancing rules.
The reopening only applies to England, with stores in Scotland and Wales waiting for guidance from their devolved administrations on when they can resume trading. Non-essential stores in Northern Ireland reopened on Friday.
