Coronavirus – Business Closures
Regulation 8(2) The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020
On Friday 20 March 2020, the government announced that the following businesses must close:
Food and Drink
- Restaurants
- Cafes, including workplace canteens
- Public Houses
- Bars and nightclubs, including bars in hotels or members clubs
Exceptions
- Food delivery and takeaway (link to our advice page)
- Cafes or canteens at hospitals, care homes or schools; prisons and military canteens; services providing food or drink to the homeless.
Retail
- Hair, beauty and nail salons, including piercing and tattoo parlours
- Massage parlours
- Car showrooms
- Outdoor and indoor markets
- Auction houses
Exceptions
- Supermarkets and other food shops, health shops, pharmacies including non-dispensing pharmacies, petrol stations, bicycles shops, home and hardware shops, laundrettes and dry cleaners, bicycle shops, garages, car rentals, pet shops, corner shops, newsagents, post offices, and banks.
- Market stalls which offer essential retail, such as grocery and food.
Hotels
- Hotels, hostels, BnBs, Campsites and boarding houses for commercial use
- Caravan parks/sites for commercial uses
Exceptions
- Where people live in these as interim abodes whilst their primary residence is unavailable they may continue to do so.
- Key workers can continue to stay in hotels or similar where required.
- Where people live permanently in caravan parks or are staying in caravan parks as interim abodes where their primary residence is not available, they may continue to do so.
Non-residential institutions
- Business, premises or place
- Libraries
- Community centres, youth centres or similar
- Places of worship
- Cinemas, theatres and concert halls
Exceptions
- Food banks
- Homeless services
- Funerals following the social distancing guidance; places of worship should remain open for solitary prayer.
- Live streaming of a service without audience would be permissible.
- Live streaming of a performance by a small group could be permissible with social distancing observed.
Assembly and leisure
- Museums and galleries
- Bingo halls, casinos and betting shops
- Spas
- Fitness studios, gyms, swimming pools or other indoor leisure centres
- Arcades, bowling alleys, soft play centres and similar
Outdoor recreation
- Enclosed spaces in parks, including playgrounds, sports courts and pitches, and outdoors gyms or similar
More information can be found: