Updates for Northern Ireland and England

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is set to ease Covid-19 restrictions in the coming days. The dates are as follows:

From 23rd April

• Outdoor visitor attractions including outdoor activity centres and close contact services can reopen.

From 30th April

• 15 people (from no more than 3 households) will be able to meet outside
• Retail can reopen
• Overnight stays in self-contained tourist accommodation will be allowed for one household
• Unlicensed premises can reopen, outdoors only, with a maximum of 6 people from 2 households per table
• Licensed premises, including social clubs, can reopen only outdoors, limited to 6 people from no more than 2 households
• The curfew on takeaways and off licenses will be removed
• Individual activities in gyms, swimming pools and other large venues – including with a carer and to allow 1-2-1 training/coaching with social distancing can take place.

From 24 May

• Indoor unlicensed and licenses premises can reopen with mitigations
• The remainder of tourist accommodation can open
• Indoor visits will be allowed in domestic settings, as well as indoor visitor attractions and indoor group exercise and training.

For more information on the easing of restrictions in Northern Ireland, click here. Further guidance on financial support open to businesses in Northern Ireland can be found here.

England

England moved to Step 2 of the government roadmap on 12^th April, enabling outdoor hospitality venues and non-essential retail to reopen.

Step 3 of the roadmap will take place no earlier than 17^th May, in which indoor areas of hospitality venues can reopen. Other venues allowed to reopen, include:

• cinemas (outdoor cinemas will also be permitted to open)
• theatres (outdoor cinemas will also be permitted to open)
• concert halls
• amusement arcades and adult gaming centres
• bingo halls
• casinos
• bowling alleys
• snooker and pool halls

Indoor as well as outdoor attractions will also reopen at the following:

• museums and galleries
• adventure playgrounds and activities
• skating rinks
• games and recreation venues, including laser quest, escape rooms, paintballing and recreational driving facilities
• play areas (including soft play centres and inflatable parks)
• model villages
• trampolining parks
• water and aqua parks
• theme parks and film studios
• zoos, safari parks, aquariums and other animal attractions
• botanical gardens, greenhouses and biomes
• sculpture parks
• landmarks including observation wheels or viewing platforms
• stately or historic homes, castles, or other heritage sites

For all stages of the roadmap and more information on what you can and can’t do, click here. More information on ARG and Recovery Loan Scheme.