Estate agents’ offices will be in the first category of High Street premises to reopen when the lockdown finally ends, newspapers claim this morning.
Although there is a widespread expectation that the lockdown will be extended for another three weeks, agents’ offices – along with coffee shops and restaurants – are today reported to be the first premises likely to be allowed to reopen in early May.
The claim comes in this morning’s Daily Star and Sun newspapers.
They say the recommendation has been made in a report written for the government by Conservative peer Lord Gadhia and Sir Jonathan Symonds, chairman of GlaxoSmithKline.
They suggest a limited re-opening of Britain’s commercial activities with appropriate social distancing measures until an anti-Coronavirus vaccine is widely available in 12 to 18 months time.
The papers say their report states: “The initial focus for reopening the economy should be on sectors that have the greatest multiplier effects with minimum risks – such as coffee shops and restaurants which support agriculture.
“The property market is another that has wide multiplier effects. We need to avoid a stop-start economy which would sap public morale and damage business confidence yet further.”