Nightclubs and other music venues in the UK are set to trial safe reopening with the help of volunteers from April.
Following Boris Johnson’s announcement on Monday (February 22) of a roadmap out of the current COVID-19 lockdown that could see venues fully reopening on June 21 at the earliest, The Times is reporting that plans are now in motion for an ‘events research programme’ to establish just how the hospitality and events sector can safely reopen.
Nightclubs, stadiums and theatres, concerts are all expected to partake in the scheme with ten pilot events reportedly set to take place from the beginning of April. It’s hoped that the Government can establish what kind of testing regimes and safety measures will need to be in place before venues fully reopen, modelling a system of verification checks that can be used on or before arrival to events.
Another area that the pilot events will look at is ventilation in venues, assessing how it reduces the risk of coronavirus transmission, while staggered entry and exit from events will also be looked into.
The results of the pilot events will be reported back to the Government before the June 21 reopening date in order to assess whether the current plan should be altered.