Clubs in Northern Ireland can open from October 31st

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  • Social distancing in bars and restaurants will also be lifted.
  • Clubs in Northern Ireland can open from October 31st image
  • Clubs in Northern Ireland will be allowed to open from October 31st, the BBC reports. Late-night venues have been closed in Northern Ireland since March 2020. From October 31st, the current limitations on dancing in venues will be lifted. This change will also mean the end of social distancing in bars and restaurants. According to the BBC, businesses may be asked or encouraged to check for vaccine passports, but it's not likely to be a legal requirement. The BBC suggests "a number of mitigations" have been agreed upon. The news comes after a pilot clubbing event took place in Dublin on September 30th. The Free The Night campaign—fighting for better licensing laws and structures in Northern Ireland—said about the event: "We hope that the executive will use all the evidence collected from the UK and Republic of Ireland to create a pathway for Northern Ireland." Across the rest of the UK, venues are open and vaccine passport requirements differ. On October 11th, vaccine passports will become mandatory for nightclubs and large events in Wales. England recently scrapped the vaccine passport plan, but the government has advised that venues may only get "one week's notice" should they become mandatory. In Scotland, vaccine passports came into practice last Friday, October 1st. Nicola Sturgeon has since apologised for the "botched" introduction of the Covid-19 pass app which meant many people weren't able to successfully access their details.
RA