GAMING venues in Hereford plan to reopen this weekend, company, Merkur Cashino has announced today (July 1).

The company plans to reopen their venues on Hereford's Commercial Street and Eign Gate on July 4, after previous opening plans were shelved following a government U-turn on June 11 saying all gaming establishments were to remain closed until further notice.

Despite this, Merkur said they remained ahead of the curve with an “Open, clean, safe” reopening campaign that aims to mirror the government’s message of “Stay alert, control the virus and save lives” ahead of the new date.

The plan will focus heavily on training team members, many of whom have been furloughed, to implement strict health and safety measures within the venue, as well as communicating advice to customers visually, through prominently displayed posters and digitally.

Both venues will be deep-cleaned ahead of reopening and the layout will be changed to enable social distancing measures to be carried out effectively, with each machine cleaned down in between customers and safety guards installed for additional protection.

Disposable masks will be available for employees and sanitising stations will be set up at the entrance to the venue.

The senior management team said they will continue to heed official government advice and will regularly monitor, and adjust the plan, accordingly.

Customers will be asked for feedback at regular intervals.