PARTY-GOING Brits celebrated Freedom Day with a bang yesterday by flocking to nightclubs up and down the country.
Venues were finally allowed to reopen for the first time in 16 months, after remaining closed throughout the whole of the pandemic.
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Social distancing and compulsory face masks were scrapped from Monday, allowing nightclubs to welcome revellers in once more and claw back lost sales from the Covid crisis.
But what are the rules if you want to go partying, and do you need a Covid vaccine passport? We explain all you need to know.
Are nightclubs open?
You can go clubbing now that Freedom Day was allowed to go ahead on July 19.
Nightclubs opened when clocks struck midnight on Monday and revellers waited outside for hours to get in and start dancing.
Nightclubs have remained closed throughout the pandemic as it has been difficult to make them Covid-secure.
But they have been allowed to reopen again now that social distancing has been scrapped and the legal requirement to wear a face mask axed.
What are the rules in clubs?
There might still be rules in place for punters to follow when visiting their local club.
While it’s not a legal requirement for you to wear a face mask anymore, some venues might still ask you to wear one.
Although social distancing has been ditched, some clubs might choose put a limit on the number of people allowed in.
Venues might also ask you to sanitise your hands before entering the club, and some might have hand sanitiser stations available for you to use inside.
Some businesses are also asking Brits to keep checking in via QR codes to the NHS Track and Trace app.
Although you’re not legally required to show a negative Covid test before being allowed to enter a club, some venues might ask you to show one.
Nightclubs have been urged by the Government to exercise caution while reopening.
Chief Medical Officer Sir Patrick Vallance added: “Nightclubs and venues where you’ve got lots of people indoors crowded together are a focus for potential super-spreading events.
“That’s why it’s so important everybody gets a vaccine so we can reduce the chance of spread and consequences of that spread.”
Do I need a Covid vaccine passport?
Currently, you do not need to have a Covid vaccine passport in order to enter a club.
But this will change from September, when Brits will be required to show one before hitting the dancefloor.
A vaccine passport is proof that you have received two coronavirus jabs.
It will be a legal requirement for revellers to show they are double jabbed in September, in a bid to boost take-up among 18-30 year olds.
Announcing the new rules yesterday, Mr Johnson – who is self-isolating after being “pinged” following his contact with Covid-positive Sajid Javid – said: “We’re concerned, as they are in other countries, by the continuing risk posed by nightclubs.
“I should serve notice now that by the end of September, when all over 18s will have had their chance to be double jabbed, we’re planning to make full vaccination the condition of entry to nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather.
“Proof of a negative test will no longer be enough.”
However, the news has been met with anger by nightclub bosses.
Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, described the plans as an “absolute shambles”.
Peter Marks, boss of Rekom UK which runs 47 of the UK’s biggest clubs such as Pryzm and Atik, said: “The people making these decisions have this outdated idea of what nightclubs were like in the 1980s and 1990s.
“We have the best air purification around. We change our air every four minutes for fresh air from outside. No other venues, pubs and so on, can compete with that. So why are nightclubs being targeted?”
Here are the pub rules for chains including Wetherspoons, Greene King and Young’s explained.
Wetherspoons will sell £2 pints of ale to celebrate lockdown restrictions ending.
Supermarket’s including Tesco, Aldi and Lidl want you to keep wearing masks.
