People in Northern Ireland will soon be able to get a hair cut and attend a church service as the Welsh Government also prepares to announce further relaxed lockdown measures on Friday.
Changes to lockdown restrictions in Northern Ireland were announced on Thursday.
Businesses including hair salons, barbers and nail bars were told they can reopen their doors from July 6.
Church services are set to resume on June 29, while guidance advising people in high-risk categories to shield will be paused at the end of July.
Announcing the decision on shielding, Health Minister Robin Swann said: “I have been clear that shielding would not last one minute longer than it needed to.
“We have now reached the point where, if the current trends continue, there will be no need for anyone to shield after July 31.”
Childcare services will be available to all parents at the start of July and pupils in key year groups will also return to school on August 24.
Schools can also operate with a one-metre social distancing measure rather than two, allowing class sizes to return to almost normal levels.
Hairdresser Andrew Mulvenna, who owns a large salon in Belfast city centre, welcomed the date for reopening.
“Like everybody it’s been a very crazy and emotional few months,” he said.
“Business is not going to be the same, that’s for sure, we’re hoping to just break even over the next six months to 12 months.
“I’d be happy with that, anything more than that is a bonus.”
In measures already known, caravan parks, campsites and self-contained tourist accommodation will be able to reopen from June 26.
A week later on July 3, hotels, restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, pubs and bars will be able to welcome customers back.
Indoor pubs and bars opening on that date will have to primarily function as restaurants and offer substantial meals with table service.
The food prerequisite does not apply to alcohol being served outside in beer gardens, though table service is again compulsory.
Museums and galleries can also reopen on July 3, but hotel leisure and spa facilities will have to remain closed.
It is recommended that people consider using face coverings in particular circumstances, such as in enclosed spaces where social distancing is not possible, but they are not mandatory.
Groups of up to six people from separate households can meet outdoors, maintaining social distancing.
Since Saturday, people living on their own have been allowed to interact with one other household in a “social bubble”.
It comes after no new Covid-19 fatalities were reported in Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile Public Health Wales said a further five people have died after contracting coronavirus taking the total number of deaths to 1,471, while the total number of cases there increased by 48 to 14,970.
An announcement on what will be relaxed next in Wales will be made on Friday, and is expected to include reopening non-essential shops and relaxing restrictions on more outdoor activities.
People are restricted to journeys of five miles for leisure, and travelling to parks, beaches and attractions outside your local area is not allowed.
But this week Government minister Eluned Morgan said reviewing the restriction would be in the “melting pot” of ideas discussed ahead of Friday’s announcement.
Members of two separate households are allowed to meet outdoors, provided they stay local and keep to social distancing, and there is no restriction on the number of people who can meet at one time.
Additional reporting by the Press Association.
