Coronavirus: Pubs and restaurants have closed across Northern Ireland

Pubs, restaurants and cafes across NI closed their doors to sit-in customers at 18:00 BST on Friday under stricter Covid-19 restrictions.

Hair and beauty salons also have to shut and gyms face additional measures for the next four weeks too.

Belfast Chamber of Commerce chief executive Simon Hamilton said a support package for businesses "didn't cut it".

It also emerged on Friday that driving instructors will be taken off the road.

Ministers released the full public health regulations and guidance relating to the new restrictions on Friday night.

On Thursday Finance Minister Conor Murphy announced hotels would be able to apply to a scheme designed to help businesses forced to shut.

The additional financial support comes after new restrictions were announced in a bid to stem cases of Covid-19.

Mr Murphy said the package was intended to get support to businesses quickly.

But Mr Hamilton said it was "paltry in comparison to the costs that many businesses are going to face".

He told BBC News NI's Good Morning Ulster: "The chancellor and the government don't appear to be too keen to provide more money for what they describe as localised lockdowns, so I am really, really concerned, having talked to members over the last 24/48 hours, that this is just too far for them, this is too much."

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Mr Hamilton warned there was a risk of thousands of job losses.

Simon Hamilton said much more support was needed for businesses

The scheme will see payments available to businesses every fortnight that they are closed, on a tiered level.

It is set to cost £35m and will open for applications from Monday.

Hospitality Ulster chief Colin Neill echoed Mr Hamilton's views, saying the support was vital but was "nowhere near enough".

He said: "We now need the prime minister, the chancellor and the treasury to listen up, level up and stop sitting on their hands."

Mr Neill called for more emergency funding to be given to Stormont to help hospitality businesses "in dire need".

The new scheme will see small businesses receive £1,600 every fortnight that they are in lockdown, medium businesses £2,400 and large firms getting £3,200.

The thresholds are:

• Small businesses with a net annual value (NAV) up to £15,000

• Medium businesses with a NAV of £15,001 to £51,000

• Large businesses with NAV of £51,001 or more

'It's mentally draining'

Jenny Sherlock owns Inner Beauty in the seaside town of Millisle, County Down.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, a Friday usually meant her beauty salon was buzzing with people getting ready for the weekend.

Hairdressers, makeup artists and beauticians rent chairs at the salon to provide their services, but their businesses never really got off the ground once lockdown restrictions eased.

Staff were busy on Friday trying to fit as many clients in as possible ahead of the closure, this time hopefully for only four weeks.

"We had to supply all posters, floor stickers, desk and table top shields and dividing sections. All PPE had to be provided, as we all wore masks, face shields, disposable aprons and gloves in a bid to limit the spread of coronavirus," she said.

"We sanitised all the work stations after each client and implemented a one-in-one-out system, meaning staff had to rotate their working hours and days so that we didn't have clients clash.

"Having been told we've now to close again after doing everything possible to keep open is disheartening and mentally draining with all the worrying about what's happening and how bills are going to get paid, never mind how we're going to afford to reopen again when the time comes."

What are the new restrictions?

Wednesday saw new measures announced for all of Northern Ireland, with schools closing for two weeks from Monday:

• Closure of the hospitality sector, apart from deliveries and takeaways

• Other fast-food and takeaway premises to close at 23:00

• Off-licences and supermarkets not to sell alcohol after 20:00

• No indoor sport or organised contact sport involving mixing of households, other than at elite level

• No mass events involving more than 15 people (except for allowed outdoor sporting events where the relevant number for that will continue to apply);

• Close-contact services such as hairdressers and beauticians to close - apart from those relating to the continuation of essential health interventions and therapeutics.

• Mobile hairdressers and make-up artists - also classed as close contact services - prohibited from working in homes

• Gyms to remain open for individual training but no classes permitted

• Places of worship to remain open but face coverings mandatory when entering and exiting

• Hotels with exemptions for them to offer rooms to essential workers such as workers who need hotels for work-related purposes and "staff on the front line battling Covid"

• Driving instructors must stop offering lessons

From 18:00 on Friday, visits to prisons in Northern Ireland have also been suspended.

The move, which also happened during lockdown in spring, will last four weeks.

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The Irish government has announced a near-total ban on household visits, and three of the border counties have been moved to the second highest level of restrictions.

The Taoiseach (Irish PM) Micheál Martin has said he will consider advice from health officials recommending a move to level five restrictions.

The Republic of Ireland is working under a five-level system for dealing with coronavirus.

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