Gyms and Beauty Salons could open this month as Jacob Rees-Mogg outlines Government's plans

Gyms and salons have been closed since the start of lockdown in March but have had to remain closed while other areas of the hospitality and leisure industry reopened.

Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg was asked for more information on the reopening of salons by Tory MP Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes).

Mr Rees-Mogg responded: "Our hope is to reopen gyms and leisure facilities in mid-July.

"Other close-contact services, tattoo and nail parlours, will follow as soon as possible.

"The Government has been clear that it wants to reopen the economy carefully and gradually and this is why some businesses which involve less sustained contact between people have opened before others."

Discussing the return of gyms, Mr Rees-Mogg said earlier: "I can't claim to be a native gym goer personally.

"I did have to go occasionally in my childhood and never quite recovered from the experience, but many people up and down the country will be very keen to get back to sports centres, gymnasiums, and swimming pools to get themselves into peak physical performance.

"They can then compensate by eating out to get back the calories that they've just worn off when they have been in the gymnasium."

Preparations are under way for the first gyms in the UK to reopen in Northern Ireland this week. Northern Ireland’s devolved Government has directed that leisure centres and gyms may reopen from Friday, July 10 but no specific date has been provided for gyms in England.

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