On the road to recovery! Bustling Regent Street and Oxford Street look a world apart from emptiness at the height of lockdown as shops reopen for the first time since March
- Striking photographs show London high streets on the road to recovery as non-essential shops reopen today
- Shoppers rushed to Regent Street and Oxford Street to form socially distanced queues outside busy stores
- Images taken in March paint another picture, with pavements and roads deserted amid Covid-19 lockdown
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Advertisement
The bustling streets of London’s West End looked a world apart from the empty roads seen at the height of lockdown this morning as non-essential shops opened for the first time since March.
Shoppers desperate to hit the high street rushed to Regent Street and Oxford Street and formed socially distanced queues outside stores which had been deserted for months amid the coronavirus lockdown.
Nearby, in Oxford Circus, the flagship Nike store was so busy the two-metre rule quickly went out of the window as dozens of shoppers lined up in close quarters – most with face masks on.
Hordes of shoppers lined up outside a Primark on Oxford Street, as others joined a queue outside the Apple store on Regent Street ahead of the store’s opening at 10am.
Photographs taken today captured a striking change from those seen in months earlier, when pavements and roads were deserted as Britons were advised to stay at home amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Now, London’s buses are back en masse to transport those heading into the capital as shops open for the first time since Boris Johnson announced draconian lockdown measures on March 23.
The Prime Minister has urged the country to ‘shop with confidence’ as non-essential stores reopen, adding he is ‘very optimistic’ that the lifting of restrictions will help the economy bounce back from three months of lockdown.
Striking photographs capture Oxford Circus in London as non-essential shops reopened to the public today – compared with a photograph of the deserted junction on May 20
The streets were bustling with shoppers and London buses were back en masse as the high street opened for business today. Pictured also are the empty roads on April 18
On Regent Street, the roads were busy amid the eased lockdown measures, compared to the deserted streets of March 24
In Oxford Circus, the flagship Nike store was so busy the two-metre rule quickly went out of the window as dozens of shoppers lined up in close quarters. The West London street is also seen amid lockdown on April 23
Shoppers also took to Carnaby Street today, with the colourful shopping district a world away from the area a month earlier
On Oxford Street, shoppers were photographed out and about for the first time since lockdown was announced on March 23
An Regent Street was almost entirely empty on April 11, two weeks after Britain entered a draconian lockdown amid Covid-19
Today painted a different picture, with London buses back on the road to transport shoppers to the much busier street
At the start of June, Oxford Street was deserted as flags reading ‘Thank you’ were hung above the typically bustling street
Just two weeks later the area was on the road to recovery, with dozens of shoppers seen out and about on the first day non-essential shops could reopen
The normally busy Oxford Street in London’s West End was largely abandoned ono April 2 as Boris Johnson urged Britons to stay at home
As lockdown measures were eased today to allow non-essential shops to open, dozens of shoppers took to the street
Bluewater Shopping Centre in Kent is seen with a near-deserted car park amid the coronavirus lockdown on April 27
At 11am, dozens of shoppers had flocked to the mall as it reopened this morning with social distancing measures in place