Widespread closures in Northern Ireland for queen’s funeral

Schools, GP surgeries and many shops will close across Northern Ireland on Monday as Queen Elizabeth’s state funeral in London has been declared a bank holiday.

All postal services are suspended while public transport will operate on a Saturday timetable.

Hospitals have enhanced bank holiday services in place to limit the impact on patients, and health trusts say they aim to maintain planned appointments and diagnostic/surgical procedures based on greatest clinical need. Chemotherapy sessions will go ahead.

An out-of-hours GP service is in place for those requiring urgent medical care.

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The majority of community pharmacies will close and a pharmacy rota has been set up to ensure prescription medication is dispensed.

Supermarket giants Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury’s have confirmed they will close their shops as a mark of respect to the monarch and to allow staff to watch the funeral, with some reopening at 5pm. M&S, B&Q and Primark stores will be shut on Monday.

Public libraries will close as will all four Museums sites – Ulster Museum, Ulster Folk Museum, Ulster Transport Museum and Ulster American Folk Park.

Council services, including bin collections, have been cancelled while MOT and driving test centres will not operate.

Schools have been granted an “exceptional closure day”, while universities and further and higher education colleges will also shut.

The Union flag is to fly at half-mast on all government buildings in the North until 8am on Tuesday, according to the Stormont Executive Office. “These regulations do not apply to local council buildings,” an Executive spokesman added.

The UK government has advised on its website that it has declared Monday a bank holiday to “allow individuals, businesses and other organisations to pay their respects to Her Majesty and commemorate Her reign, while marking the final day of the period of national mourning”.

Although it says that some businesses “may wish to consider closing or postponing events”, there is no statutory entitlement to time off for workers.

On the eve of the funeral, people in the North were invited to take part in a ‘national moment of reflection” to mourn the queen’s passing and reflect on her life and legacy.

Meanwhile, the Government in Dublin has confirmed that a notification was issued to its departments and offices requesting them to half-mast the national flag from all buildings under their control on the day of the Queen Elizabeth’s funeral.

The request also related to the day the monarch’s death was announced, on September 9th.

Asked if the instructions applied to local authorities, a Government spokeswoman said: “Yes, notification included all agencies and bodies under the aegis of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.”