The Government has stepped up measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus and save lives. All non-essential premises must now close. Which businesses should stay open is a little unclear with many Islanders interpreting the Prime Minister’s orders in their own way.
Island Echo has included the official Government guidance below to help employees and business owners understand the rules that are now in place for the next 3 weeks.
What is clear is that takeaway and delivery services may remain open and operational in line with guidance issued on Friday 20th March. Online retail is still open and encouraged and postal and delivery service will run as normal.
The following businesses and premises must remain closed:
• Restaurants (Food delivery and takeaway can remain operational)
• Cafes, including workplace canteens (Food delivery and takeaway can remain operational. Cafés or canteens at hospitals, care homes or schools; prison and military canteens; services providing food or drink to the homeless)
• Pubs
• Bars and nightclubs (including bars in hotels or members’ clubs)
• Hair, beauty and nail salons (including piercing and tattoo parlours)
• Massage parlours
• All retail businesses (except supermarkets and other food shops, health shops, pharmacies including non-dispensing pharmacies, petrol stations, bicycle shops, home and hardware shops, laundrettes and dry cleaners, bicycle shops, garages, car rentals, pet shops, corner shops, newsagents, post offices, and banks).
• Outdoor and indoor markets (except market stalls which offer essential retail such as grocery and food)
• Auction houses
• Car showrooms
• Hotels, hostels, BnBs, campsites and boarding houses for commercial use (where people live in these as interim abodes whilst their primary residence is unavailable they may continue to do so. Key workers can continue to stay in hotels or similar where required
• Caravan parks/sites for commercial uses (where people live permanently in caravan parks or are staying in caravan parks as interim abodes where their primary residence is not available, they may continue to do so
• Libraries
• Community centres, youth centres and similar (facilities may remain open for the purpose of hosting essential voluntary or public services, such as food banks or homeless services)
• Places of worship for services (except funerals following the social distancing guidance; places of worship should remain open for solitary prayer). Live streaming of a service without audience would be permissible
• Cinemas, theatres and concert halls (live streaming of a performance by a small group could be permissible with social distancing observed).
• Museums and galleries
• Bingo halls, casinos and betting shops
• Spas
• Skating rinks
• Fitness studios, gyms, swimming pools or other indoor leisure centres
• Arcades, bowling alleys, soft play centres and similar
• Enclosed spaces in parks, including playgrounds, sports courts and pitches and outdoor gyms or similar
Takeaway and delivery services
Takeaway and delivery facilities should remain open and operational. This means people can continue to enter premises to access takeaway services, including delivery drivers. Planning regulation will be changed to enable restaurants, cafes and pubs which do not currently offer delivery and hot food takeaway to do so. This will be clearly communicated by the government when in effect. People must not consumer food or drinks on site at restaurants, cafes or pubs whilst waiting for takeaway food,
Those venues offering takeaway or delivery services must not include alcoholic beverages in this list if their license does not already permit.
Length of closure
Businesses and premises and other venues outlined above should not to open for trade from close of trade on 23rd March 2020. The Government will look again at these measures in 3 weeks, and relax them if the evidence shows this is possible.
A business operating in contravention of the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Business Closures) Regulations 2020 will be committing an offence. As agreed with the devolved administrations, these measures will be extended to Scotland and Northern Ireland by Ministerial Direction once the Coronavirus Bill is in force.
Environmental Health and Trading Standards officers will monitor compliance with these regulations, with police support provided if appropriate. Businesses and premises that breach them will be subject to prohibition notices, and potentially unlimited fines.
Can I use an ATM and should I also pay or receive cash?
You could take antibacterial wipes with you & wipe before use. As for money ir anything going into your hands give it a squirt of disinfectant. Most notes now are plastic so it wont damage them, more importantly it will keep you safe. But dont forget majority of businesses are only taking cards now cause if virus.
Hardly any article about closing jobs missing esurance for people who lose their job even temporarily.. clear and detail and straight forward information.. how they going to be paid.. Noone seems to talk about that much.. Frustrating and unclear.. People got bills to pay and for food which keep them alive….
Estate Agents?
I want to point put, the evidence from other countries is that this lock down will go on for a lot longer than 3 weeks.
How come our gardener is hard at work cutting grass today? It doesn’t seem fair that all businesses must close and yet the little self employed gardener and cleaner carry on regardless
It’s not about fairness, it’s about been close to different people. The government hasn’t stopped Mr Gardener yet. There’s still a message issue.
I don’t think I would have a cleaner, but the gardener is outside, and if distancing is followed he/she doesn’t pose a threat. As you’ve put ‘our gardener’ you could tell them not to come.
I’m a cleaner and I’m not working mainly because I cannot guarantee the distancing and it’s not classed as essential if someone in the house can do it. Also my clients are in the vulnerable group. And I’m not getting paid now either. Safety first worry later.
They want some people to carry on with their work if they pose no threat and they don’t come into any form of contact with others. This way they don’t have 100% of the work force claiming and a totally a stagnant economy. I have to admit though I don’t understand why they are letting people carry on when working in groups in factories and sites.
Sadly now, you are now seeing the trades who are quite obviously underpaid for their work as they cannot afford to stop and take a moral stance, I am pretty sure they would rather be at home with their loved ones than cutting someone’s grass for £8 an hour and no holiday and sick pay.
This is currently Not a lockdown in the true form, too many people are totally unsure what to do and are continuing to carry on, the list of what is allowed to open is and will encourage people to go out, this is Not right. we Don’t have the luxury of time.
Government needs to get it’s act together, the Police cannot enforce as there are far few too few of them.
People will not take this seriously at the rate required until immediate action is taken. We are told we are only 2 weeks behind Italy, this is not a rehearsal this is the real thing.
The troops need to be visible on the streets.
Example Sports Direct emailing staff to inform them to go to work as they supply fitness equipment, then changing their mind and closing down.
There is no simple answer but there is much still happening that should Not be.
I haven’t seen any police car drive past for weeks now and i always used to see a police car sometime when walking home. i am hoping the rowdy groups of people often seen will not now still be roaming around, it’s alarming when you’re on your own walking to the shop and there are people around thinking this is some sort of holiday and they are all lurching about laughing and acting like they’re under the influence of something,
What about construction sites, I have to go in to work still and working 2m apart is not possible at all times. Clear indications of whether we should all be here or not hasn’t been given.
Being self employed I have bills to pay and the government hasn’t set out a plan for self employed yet other than 90 odd quid a week for universal credit which is unsurvivable financially.
Ita a hard choice between hardship and safety with an added dose of will there still be work to go back to if I choose to stop, losing my work to someone who is willing to carry on.
I would rather be home and safe but for now I see no other way forewards.
Are the fishing lakes on the island closed now?
fishing lakes are classed as public places and should be closed until further notice.
So, factory workers just have to work and shut up about it?
Indeed. Except all mid and senior management who have run off home!
Can anyone tell me why the Post Office in Ventnor has closed as it clearly states in the Sun newspaper that all banks and post offices should remain open. This information regarding closure has been posted on IOW Community Information site.
They posted that because the actual shop in non essential they had to close, regardless of having a post office counter