It’s the good news every bingo player has been waiting for, the re-opening of bingo halls in England! Bingo halls closed their doors for the foreseeable future when the Prime Minister announced the lockdown measures for the country on 20th March. Up until yesterday, it was unknown when bingo halls would be able to re-open, but that hasn’t stopped venues across the UK, preparing for when that time comes.
Bringing communities together
During this whole Coronavirus pandemic, bingo has been at the heart of bringing communities together, both to raise money for charity and to help those most vulnerable and isolated in society. There has been plenty of stories of communities and individuals arranging bingo games for their streets and even the A-list and Royals have joined in! Matthew McConaughey, the American film star, hosted a bingo game for an assisted living complex in Texas and even the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate, turned their hands to bingo calling for a local care home. 
For many, a weekly trip to their local bingo hall was their only social interaction with other people, so the closure has affected many people particularly hard. But now the end is in sight as Boris Johnson announced the latest phase in the easing of lockdown restrictions.
4th July re-opening
From 4th July 2020, bingo hall will be allowed to re-open, providing that specific measures are in place to stop the spread of the disease. These include:
- Full deep cleaning and sanitisation
- Arranging tables so they don’t face each other
- Clearly marking out areas with social distancing markers
- Increased spacing between players
- Some slot machines and areas of the bingo hall may be closed off
- In the event players have to cue, they must ensure the 1m rule is adhered to
The news has been warmly welcomed by both operators and players alike, so it’s only a matter of days before you can head out to your favourite bingo hall!