Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2020 June 18

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June 18

Libraries, bus stations, charity shops, cafes & restaurants fully opened

As the lockdown in Northern Ireland finally eases, when will the libraries, bus stations, charity shops, cafes & restaurants (Mcdonalds, KFC, Burger King, Domino's Pizza) fully open? 86.129.17.70 (talk) 19:52, 18 June 2020 (UTC)

Wikipedia can't predict the future, beyond what was announced by the NI Executive on Monday. -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 20:04, 18 June 2020 (UTC)

Charity shops will be a particular problem. Even when they're allowed to do so, not all will be able to. All of the easing of restrictions are predicated on the mandate that the shop establish adequate social distancing. High Street charity shops have a particular problem with that - they're relatively small premises, almost always with a single door, and they're jam-packed with stuff (more than normal shops: because the charity shop stock is of such low value, they pack-em'-high). In England, where charity shops are now allowed to open, almost all haven't; some of the larger chains are trialling opening a dozen or so of their larger shops to figure out how to operate. They may have to thin out the stock in smaller shops before those can open. Charity shops in particular have a second problem that normal shops don't - they depend on volunteers for most work, whose age distribution is different from the workforce ("those under 25 and those 45 and older were significantly more likely to volunteer") - so presumably quite a proportion of the volunteer force (most of those past retiral age) may not return. The Charity Retail Association has a detailed document about the stuff charity shops will have to do to reopen. One thing is handling donations - they're advised to store them for 3 days before processing (and charity shop back rooms tend to be a rats nest anyway). So for them, allowed to reopen isn't the same as able to. -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 20:21, 18 June 2020 (UTC)

What about libraries, bus stations, cafes & restaurants (Mcdonalds, KFC, Burger King, Domino's Pizza)? 86.129.17.70 (talk) 19:38, 19 June 2020 (UTC)

"The Stormont Executive has agreed to bring forward the reopening days of pubs, restaurants and hotels in Northern Ireland to 3 July" [1].

"Selected libraries" in NI were initially intended to reopen in Step 2 with all libraries in Step 3 [2] although I'm struggling to find exactly which step NI is in at present, but I suspect Step 2. Alansplodge (talk) 12:05, 20 June 2020 (UTC)