Non-essential retail, personal care, leisure centres and outdoor hospitality venues are allowed to reopen on Monday 12th April, according to government guidance. Westgate Shopping centre announced that its non-essential retail is ready to reopen on Monday. Safety measures in place will include queueing systems upon entry, limited capacity and hand sanitizer points located throughout the centre.
Brendan Hattam, Centre Director, Westgate Oxford said: “We’d like to remind everyone that it’s a legal requirement for all guests coming into the centre to wear a face covering. And one-way systems, signs and floor stickers are there to keep everyone safe.“ To avoid having to queue outside, Westgate recommends visiting the centre’s website and social media channels before arrival.
Gloucester Green Market is set to reopen on Wednesday April 14th, and will return to operating four days a week Wednesday to Saturday. The international street-food stalls are also set to reopen. To enable social distancing, there will be bigger gaps between stalls as well as a manager to monitor social distancing. All traders will wear masks and have been encouraged to install screens. Hand sanitising stations will be available around the market.
Outdoor hospitality venues are also getting ready to reopen. Cherwell has put together a list of some cafes and pubs set to reopen. The Oxford Mail also lists some pubs which are hiring. It writes that the Bear Inn and the Slug and Lettuce are both looking for bar staff with “no experience needed” and suggest it might be a good opportunity for “an energetic student”. Some venues are also advertising their reopenings via social media, such as cafe and study room Common Ground, who posted “we are back ☺” on Facebook.
Image credit: Cymetrobus85, distributed under a CC-SA 4.0 License, via Wikimedia Commons
