UPDATE: Hairdressers open on July 6

Church services will resume on June 29

Hairdressers reopen
Author: Nigel GouldPublished 18th Jun 2020

A series of further lockdown relaxations have been announced in Northern Ireland.

Guidance advising people in high-risk categories to shield is to be paused at the end of July.

Hair salons, barbers and nail bars can reopen on July 6, while church services are set to resume on June 29.

Childcare services will be available to all parents at the start of July.

Pupils in key year groups will also return to school on August 24.

Schools can also operate with a one-metre social distancing measure, allowing class sizes to return to almost normal levels.

The powersharing executive has also announced plans that would see the return of full childcare services in September.

The moves were agreed by ministers in the powersharing executive during a meeting on Thursday.

Announcing the decision on shielding, Health Minister Robin Swann said: I have been clear that shielding would not last one minute longer than it needed to.

"We have now reached the point where, if the current trends continue, there will be no need for anyone to shield after July 31.''

There were no further coronavirus-linked deaths in the region on Thursday, leaving the total recorded by the Department of Health at 543.