SHUTTERS went up and doors finally opened on thousands of shops across Northern Ireland yesterday as retailers returned to business after three months of lockdown.
All non-essential shops were able to reopen and shoppers were back on high streets.
The north became the first part of the UK to make the move after retailers were given the all-clear by Stormont ministers on Thursday following a reduction in the numbers of coronavirus infections and deaths.
Those based in shopping centres were also given the green light as ministers accelerated the pace at which society emerges from lockdown.
In Belfast city centre yesterday, while there was a buzz on the streets, the shopping experience was very different.
Customers who did venture out were met with a range of new hygiene and social distancing measures, both in and outside.
Queuing systems are in place, there is signage throughout stores and perspex protective screens at tills with several workers wearing masks.
Employees met customers at entrances and directed them through one-way systems with consumers reminded that clothes and shoes could not be tried on as changing rooms remain shut.
Simon Hamilton of Belfast Chamber said it was "great day for the retail sector in Belfast and right across the region".
"For it to have been closed down for nearly three months has had a really devastating impact on a sector that was already facing challenges," he said.
"To see staff returning to work and hear shutters opening again was brilliant and a real sign that not only is retail up and running again but also psychologically important for us all as it is a sign that we are slowly but surely turning the corner and getting back to some semblance of normality.
"Today is a good day for our economy and we hope that it won’t be too long before our hospitality, leisure and tourism sector can also safely reopen soon as there is such a strong relationship between it and retail."
At Fairhill Shopping Centre in Ballymena, customers were also back through the doors.
Sanitising stations have been installed, increased in-centre cleaning at key touch points, while seating and play areas have been removed.
A one-way system with crossover points and signage is in place to help customers maintain their distance from others, while an internal traffic light mobile application controls the occupancy.
Centre manager Natalie Jackson said: "As a centre, we’ve been planning and putting in place a number of measures to ensure that we can open safely and securely.
"To date, we have been operating with essential services like Marks and Spencer and Specsavers.
"However, in moving forward we’ve implemented many new measures and we now need the public and our customers to work with us to adhere to these measures and ensure they stay safe.
Emma Marmion-Mullen, president of Newry Chamber of Commerce, also said: "The road to recovery will be challenging.
"The financial support measures from the UK government and the executive have helped businesses to survive and keep people in employment."
First Minister Arlene Foster insisted the move had not been fast-tracked in response to the opening of retailers in the Republic.
"I don't think that that's the case at all," she told the BBC.
"We have had our plan, we launched it back on the 12th of May, and in that plan we said we would take a step-by-step process out of the lockdown and we would do it in a way that didn't have a cumulative impact upon the transmission of the virus.
"We've been taking steps to come out, we do that in a gradual way, and we think that now is the right time to open all retail."
