June Bank Holiday restrictions: What we can and can’t do – and what we can look forward to on Monday

As the bank holiday weekend fast approaches, as well as the next phase of reopening on 7 June, here’s a recap of what exactly you can do under current Covid-19 restrictions, and what we can look forward to on Monday.

Socialising

If you’re outdoors, you can meet with up to three households, or six people from any number of households (not including children aged 12 and under). Organised outdoor gatherings can take place with up to 15 people.

Currently, you cannot meet with people indoors except for support bubbles or these “vaccine bonus” exceptions: up to three households of fully vaccinated people can meet indoors, and fully vaccinated people from up to two households can meet indoors with unvaccinated people from one other household.

From Monday, you can welcome visitors from one other household in your home, even if nobody is vaccinated.

Travel

Since 10 May, you can travel anywhere in Ireland for any reason, so road trips are definitely on the cards. If you’re using public transport, bear in mind it is currently operating at 50pc capacity.

Since yesterday, hotels, bed and breakfasts, self-catering and hostels have all reopened, so a daytrip could easily be turned into a staycation.

International travel is still prohibited for non-essential reasons (and puts you at risk of a €2000 fine), but we can look forward to free travel within the EU and EEA in July when the EU Digital COVID Certificate (DCC) is planned to be introduced.

Restaurants and Pubs

You can already enjoy indoor restaurant and bar services if you are an overnight guest in a hotel, bed and breakfast, or hostel.

For the rest of this week, pubs and restaurants are open on a takeaway only basis, and from Monday we can look forward to the reopening of outdoor services.

Groups of up to 6 people aged over 13, or 15 in total for groups including children, will be able to sit outside without any time limit if tables are two metres apart, and with no requirement to order food.

Sports and exercise

Already, we can enjoy outdoor sport facilities like golf courses and tennis courts, and outdoor sports training is permitted in pods of up to 15.

From Monday, gyms, swimming pools and leisure centres will all be open again for individual training, swimming lessons and classes can take place, and all outdoor sports matches, elite or otherwise, can go ahead.

Events and Venues

Cultural and entertainment venues remain closed for the next few days, but on Monday we’ll see the reopening of cinemas and theatres, as well as drive-in cinemas and drive-in bingo. Up to 100 people will be able to attend outdoor events, and venues with capacity of 5000 or more can host events with up to 200 people.

There are promising indicators for the return of larger scale events, as a number of pilot live events take place this month, including the Camogie National League Finals in Croke Park for 3,000 people, and an outdoor music festival in Phoenix Park for 3,500 people.

Shops and services

The streets of towns and cities are back to life as non-essential retail and personal services have all reopened. Why not treat yourself to a bit of retail therapy or book into a salon for some TLC?

Religious services

Places of worship are now open for religious services for up to 50 people, and where a place of worship is large enough, larger congregations may be allowed.