Covid-19: Indoor hospitality set to reopen in NI on Monday

Indoor hospitality has been closed since December

Stormont ministers have approved relaxing lockdown rules in Northern Ireland, meaning hospitality can operate indoors from Monday 24 May.

The Northern Ireland Executive met on Thursday to formally sign off the changes.

These include allowing six people from two households to meet indoors in homes from Monday.

A traffic light system for foreign travel will also take effect from then, subject to ministerial approval.

Twelve countries are on Northern Ireland's so-called "green list" for foreign travel.

Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill confirmed on Thursday that Portugal is among those countries.

• NI Covid-19 restrictions: Your questions answered

People going to countries that appear on the green list do not need to quarantine on their return.

But those returning from the likes of Portugal will be asked to take a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test for Covid in the days after they arrive home.

What is happening from Monday?

• Indoor household visits allowed, with up to six people from no more than two households (this does not include children under 12);

• Overnight stays permitted;

• Indoor hospitality allowed with six people allowed to sit together from unlimited households (children under 12 not counted in the six);

• Hotels, B&Bs and other travel and tourism venues to reopen;

• Post wedding and civil partnership receptions permitted, with no restriction on top table but restriction of 10 at other tables;

• Removal of stay local message;

• Schools can resume extra-curricular activities, with indoor sports and outdoor inter-schools sports allowed;

• Indoor visitor attractions can reopen with mitigations, including amusement arcades, bingo halls, museums, galleries and cinemas;

• Libraries can reopen;

• All outdoor and indoor sport and leisure venues are permitted to open and indoor group exercise and training can resume, including soft play areas, leisure centres, gyms, swimming pools, equestrian centres, venues relating to motor sport and activity centres;

• Up to 500 spectators allowed at outdoor sport events or gatherings;

• Increase in number allowed for indoor (non-domestic) gatherings, subject to venue risk assessment.

England, Scotland and Wales have already implemented similar systems, with the first travellers heading off on holiday earlier this week.

It is understood that Stormont health officials had recommended Portugal should be on Northern Ireland's amber list, which would still require people to self-isolate for 10 days on arrival in Northern Ireland.

At present, the executive's advice is that people should only travel to or outside of Northern Ireland for essential purposes.

If returning from a country on the UK's red list, passengers must book and enter hotel quarantine.

A very limited number of countries are set to make NI's green list

International travellers visiting or returning to Northern Ireland must also currently provide evidence of a negative Covid-19 test result, provide journey and contact details and also isolate for 10 days.

It is all systems go for Monday, when we'll take some of our biggest steps yet back to normality.

Stormont ministers are allowing pubs and restaurants to trade indoors again - a move that couldn't come soon enough given the recent bad weather.

While there's a further unlocking of the local economy, just as important are the relaxations to help reunite families and friends who have faced many months with severely limited social contact.

People also keen on a holiday can now start planning for this, albeit the so-called green list is limited and anyone hoping to head abroad will face higher costs and extra paperwork.

Things have been rolling steadily for some time. Now it appears the executive is preparing to take off its stabilisers and speed up our journey out of lockdown.

Outgoing First Minister Arlene Foster, who attended the executive meeting virtually from London as she had been meeting Boris Johnson, said it was great news for the economy.

"Now is a time to look ahead and to enjoy these hard won freedoms safely," Mrs Foster said.

"We must continue to do all we can as a community to keep ourselves and each other safe and I appeal to everyone to be cautious to help ensure we can keep heading in the right direction."

Ms O'Neill said the moves were another positive step but she urged caution.

'Be careful, be cautious'

"I'd remind people to still be careful, be cautious, because we do have the new variants that are there, but we need to keep going steady as we go and follow the public health advice," Ms O'Neill said.

The deputy first minister accepted that some people would be disappointed that certain countries had not made it on to the green list.

"This is about trying to keep the virus under control," Ms O'Neill said.

"We've got to such a good point, the community transmission is low, but there's a real danger and a real threat being posed by new variants, in particular the Indian variant," Ms O'Neill added.

"So we're watching that very carefully. We're in a good place right now, there isn't widespread community transmission, but the health advice is very clear in saying it's a matter of when, not if. So we have to bear that in mind in terms of the limitations of travel."

Non-essential travel from Northern Ireland to other parts of the Common Travel Area (CTA) is to be allowed from Monday and people will not be required to isolate on return if they have visited family or friends in other parts of the area.

The CTA is the UK, Republic of Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

At Thursday's executive meeting, ministers backed the reopening of hotels and B&Bs from Monday and the attendance of spectators at outdoor sport events - up to 500 may be permitted.

Indoor household visits will also be allowed from that date, with six people from two households allowed at one time. Children under 12 do not count towards the total.

Overnight stays will also be allowed.

Pubs and restaurants will be allowed to trade indoors with a maximum of six people per table from a maximum of six households, or up to 10 people provided they are all from the same household.

Hospitality Ulster chief executive Colin Neill said the announcement will "bring back hope to businesses".

"As we now look towards Monday's reopening, the health and wellbeing of customers, staff and the wider public will be the priority for all the hospitality sector business owners," he said.

Londonderry Chamber president Dawn McLaughlin said businesses "can now begin to look towards the busy summer period and our economic recovery".

But she added there was some "ambiguity and grey areas" within the hospitality industry over "what is exactly required of them to reopen, especially in the absence of any published regulations or guidelines yet".

Up to 1,000 fans will be able to attend the Irish Cup Final on Friday

Other measures easing from Monday include increased numbers permitted for indoor gatherings - not including domestic settings - to allow for community events such as mother-and-toddler groups to resume.

Up to 1,000 fans will also be allowed to attend Friday's Irish Cup final at Mourneview Park in Lurgan, County Armagh.

But spectators will not be allowed back for Derry City's game against St Patrick's Athletic on Monday night.

The decision was taken after discussions with public health officials, "based on the current high rates of Covid-19 transmission in the city", according to a statement on the club's website.

People in England, Scotland and Wales have been allowed to meet in each other's homes and enjoy indoor hospitality since Monday.