Pubs, bars, restaurants, hairdressers, barbers and cinemas in England began reopening over the weekend, with new working practices and employees kitted out in PPE such as masks and visors.

Beer gardens and pavement cafes in Scotland have reopened today (6 July).

Companies are also making preparations to reopen offices, with workplaces transformed through the use of various materials from plastics to corrugated board being used to created screens between workstations. Hairdressers are using items such as clear pull-up banners as separators.

Some firms have already put a price tag on the new requirements. Royal Mail, for example, has allocated £40m to spend on PPE. Kurt Geiger spent £75,000 per store on a wide range of measures to make the locations Covid-ready. 

The £3.68bn collective tally put together by Where The Trade Buys “for one day back in the office” across the entire UK includes: two pumps of hand sanitiser per hour for every worker, at just over £3m; two face masks for each worker at £72m; Floor markings for all the commercial spaces across the country at £1.2bn; and deep cleaning at nearly £2.4bn.

Where The Trade Buys is among the industry firms that have pivoted their product offering during the crisis, and it partnered with Prime Group to produce PPE visors at the height of the PPE supply issues for the NHS and care homes.

The firm has created several new product categories as a result of the pandemic and the required measures around returning  to work.

Chief executive Gary Peeling commented: “With shared office spaces gradually reopening, businesses will require numerous health and safety products to ensure the safeguarding of their staff. Ahead of office doors reopening, careful planning will be needed in order to put the necessary protective equipment in place and enhance health and safety measures before employees return to the workplace.”

The firm is a sister business of Precision Printing and has facilities in Dagenham, Sunderland and Worksop.