As the UK appears to be emerging from the COVID pandemic (subject to more virulent variant spread & emergence) the government have lifted ‘Lock-down’ restrictions on many businesses such as indoor hospitality & gyms/swimming pools etc.
Sadly this hasn’t currently changed anything for Dental practices following the additional COVID screening & social distancing measures that we have been following since re-opening in June 2020.
Currently the UK COVID alert level (as of 17th May 2021) has been lowered to LEVEL 3. Until the alert level is lowered to LEVEL 2 these screening & additional PPE protocols have to stay in place within dental practices. These include such things as phoning you the day before your appointment, temperature checks before entry, minimising the number of people in the building/waiting room, & general social-distancing.
Dentists are hopeful that if the proposed easing on 21st June 2021 goes ahead this alert level ‘will’ be lowered to 2 & we will be able to remove many of these additional measures.
British Dental Association Advice for Patients - CORONAVIRUS
If the easing in June goes ahead as planned we have yet to receive firm information on what testing (lateral flow etc) or vaccination status information may be necessary to allow full use of the waiting room & toilet facilities, and also what social distancing measures may still have to be implemented.
UK Government Roadmap out of Lockdown
As soon as we know more we will pass this on, but as a general rule the main UK media channels get this at the same time (or even before) we do.