Read an updated post on bingo hall reopening here. Bingo establishments can open again from the 4th July with social distancing.
As more and more of us are either self isolating or keeping our social distance from one another this week, it’s very uncertain now as to what lies ahead for our UK bingo halls. Many clubs are closing their doors temporarily one by one, and those that aren’t are just awaiting the call, so to speak.
With the rapid rise in Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases now here in the UK, the government are advising against all social contact in entertainment venues. This has seen the closure of many pubs, clubs and theatre venues all over the country, or some have at least chosen to undertake huge deep cleaning measures in order to remain open and safe.
As the global health crisis is ever changing by the hour, it’s uncertain as to whether your local bingo hall will still be open from one day to the next at the moment. There have been no official closures as yet other than the odd venue here and there, but no brands have made statements yet about national closure as a whole.
Again this could all change at any given time however, as government officials are nearing more towards a nationwide lockdown each day so it’s best to check.
Unfortunately since the introduction of online bingo here in the UK, a lot of a bingo halls and clubs were already closing or struggling to keep their doors open anyway. Could this Pandemic see the UK bingo hall scene come to an end completely? It’s something only time will tell I guess.
Mecca Bingo Hall in Chesterfield Reopens Following Coronavirus ‘Deep Clean’
On Monday 16th March at 8pm, Mecca Bingo in Chesterfield announced that they would be closing the building down entirely for a total deep clean on the premises. The staff said it was just a precautionary measure, however it’s since been released that there was a possibility of direct contact to the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
The initial statement given by the club read:
Following advice from Public Health England, we have taken the decision to temporarily close Mecca Chesterfield.
The health and safety of our customers and team is our number one priority and so, as a precautionary measure, we will be undertaking a full deep clean of the premises with immediate effect. The club will be reopened once we have followed guidelines issued by Public Health England.
They apologised for any inconvenience caused, and encouraged players to continue enjoying bingo over on their online bingo site meccabingo.com.
The decision came swiftly after the Government announced that new measures that should be taken to combat the COVID-19 outbreak here in the UK. The Prime Minister made a statement just hours before the club decided to close, which advised all members of the public to avoid any pubs, clubs, theatres and leisure facilities from that moment on.
Club Reopens 24 Hours Later – But For How Long?
On Tuesday 17th March just under 24 hours later, the club issued a statement saying that the club had now reopened and that normal service had resumed.
A spokesperson confirmed that a ‘deep clean’ had been undertaken, and that members were now safe to return to the club as normal.
The statement read:
We believe it is likely that this venue came into direct contact with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) though we are unable to confirm on which dates this may have happened.
The deep clean has now been completed, and we will be reopening the club again from 5:30pm today.
Please be reassured that our Mecca venues have elevated their already high standards of hygiene, providing increased accessibility of hand sanitiser and further enhancing our cleaning regimes.
They then asked that all customers follow any further advice given by Public Health England, of which you can find in detail here.
No more information has been released as yet regarding the club, so I assume that it will remain open now until any new government guidelines arise.
What’s next for UK Bingo Halls?
As I mentioned earlier, it’s unknown now as to whether this, or any UK bingo hall for that matter will continue to operate as normal now over the coming weeks throughout this Pandemic.
Although this particular Mecca club has assured that all customers can feel safe on their premises, the future of all UK bingo halls is now very unsure.
As the world is currently changing literally by the hour these days, we really don’t know what lies ahead at the moment.
Most countries who are suffering from mass outbreaks of COVID-19 have gone into total lockdown now, which is something that I think the UK will now experience very soon too.
At present there are no official ‘Lockdown’ government guidelines in place, however it is still strongly advised to keep social distance at all times now. One by one we may see clubs temporarily close over the coming weeks and months, but let’s hope it’s not for too long and we can get back to business as normal soon.
Some of the smaller clubs may not make not make it through this crisis I fear, especially if we end up in lockdown for months at a time. If the government ensure financial support then that could help, but some bingo clubs may sadly never open their doors again.