The Coronavirus pandemic has seen our lives change dramatically over the past few months. From the way we work and spend our leisure time to how we communicate with our families. 

The gradual easing of lockdown restrictions may not have marked a return to how we used to be but it has taken us somewhere towards the much talked about 'new normal'.

Once again, we can spend time with our loved ones and meet up with friends - as long as we do this in line with social distancing guidelines.

We can also go shopping for non-essential items and, from last weekend, visit bars, pubs and restaurants.

This is great news for everyone, but particularly the many businesses across the county that have been closed since lockdown restrictions were introduced back in March.

Those restrictions were clearly necessary, but it is vital for many people's livelihoods that shops and businesses are now able to reopen. it is also absolutely crucial for our economy.

We must also remember though that the Coronavirus has not gone away and remains a very real threat.

That's why we're doing everything we can to support all businesses that wish to reopen and are able to do so under Government guidance. 

As well as introducing measures to support social distancing in our town centres, we have put together a toolkit for licensed premises explaining what they need to consider before and after they welcome back customers.

As you will be aware, many pubs, bars and restaurants reopened at the weekend. We worked closely with the police in advance of Saturday to ensure we had done all we can to support businesses and also encourage customers to behave responsibly and abide by social distancing and public health guidelines. I am pleased that, in the main, this work has paid off.

Over the next couple of weeks, we expect more licensed venues to reopen to the public and, as such, we will continue to work closely with the police and businesses to ensure this happens in a safe and organised way.

However, I would also encourage those visiting pubs, bars and restaurants to be responsible - please keep two metres apart where possible, only meet up with those people you are permitted to do so under Government guidelines and continue to wash your hands regularly for at least 20 seconds.

People across County Durham have done a great job so far and it's vital that we take the precautions to keep the recovery on track.