Last checked at 
* UK looking at changes to 2-metre social distance rule
* Travel quarantine changes under consideration
* Hospitality sector might reopen in early July
* Too early to cut VAT tax
(Adds details on travel quarantine, stimulus options)
By William Schomberg and Paul Sandle
LONDON, June 14 (Reuters) - Britain is urgently reviewing
its social distancing rule and might be able to relax quarantine
for travellers to help its economy recover from a coronavirus
crisis collapse, the country's finance minister Rishi Sunak
said.
Progress in tackling the coronavirus pandemic meant Britain
was able to take a "fresh look" at the two-metre rule, which
many employers have said will make it harder to get back up to
speed after the lockdown, Sunak said on Sunday.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government, which says it has
always followed scientific advice in its handling of the
pandemic, faces the difficult balancing act of reviving the
economy without allowing a second wave of coronavirus cases.
Britain has the third highest number of coronavirus deaths
after the United States and Brazil, something critics of the
government say reflects its response to the crisis.
"It's important that we look at it comprehensively, in the
round, and that's what we will do urgently," Sunak told Sky News
about the social distancing rule, adding that preliminary work
had already begun.
Reducing the distance people must keep apart from each other
would mean three quarters of pubs could reopen, rather than
about one third with a two-metre rule.
Sunak also said the government could make changes to a
14-day quarantine for people coming into the country, such as
the introduction of travel corridors with specific countries.
Airlines have warned of huge job losses because of the
quarantine introduced last week.
"The transport secretary is actively looking at options as
we continue to make progress against the virus. We might be able
to do more here as well," Sunak said.
Sunak said he would reopen the economy "slowly and safely",
starting with the retail sector this week, and he hoped the
hospitality sector would follow in early July.
The scale of the economic slump was laid bare by data last
week which showed output shrank by a quarter over March and
April, but the focus was now on the recovery phase.
Sunak said he wanted to encourage companies to hire workers
and there needed to be more skills training, while higher levels
of household savings represented a positive for the economy.
Asked if he might cut value-added tax to spur spending,
Sunak said it was something Britain had done previously.
"Before we have that conversation we need to actually reopen
those sectors. There's no point in cutting VAT on a sector that
is actually closed," he said.
(Writing by William Schomberg
Editing by Paul Sandle and Alexander Smith)
