Off-licences have been added to the Government’s list of businesses essential to keep the country running during the coronavirus crisis.
With pubs and bars ordered to close to stem the spread of Covid-19, off-licences were added to the list of shops allowed to stay open on Wednesday.
Licensed shops selling alcohol, including those in breweries, also made the updated list of stores exempted from mass closures in the retail sector.
📢Today we’ve published updated @mhclg guidance on non-essential businesses and retail that must close and how those staying open should operate.https://t.co/JYGYwa8wXG#StayHomeSaveLives
— Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) March 25, 2020
Corner shops, pharmacies, supermarkets, hardware stores, banks, petrol stations and bike shops can also stay open during the pandemic.
On Monday night, Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered the closure of all non-essential stores as he plunged the UK into a lockdown to ease the burden on the NHS.
Pubs, bars and restaurants had already been told to shut their doors in an effort to prevent the spread on people mixing closely in public.
Places of worship must close, apart from for funerals, as must libraries, museums, galleries and bingo halls.
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