There was delight last Friday as retailers who sell non-essential goods were once again able to re-open.

There was a tangible atmosphere of excitement in Enniskillen town centre with many retailers unable to hide their delight as customers who have become friends walked into their stores.

Elaine Godfrey, of Osborne and Co., spoke to The Impartial Reporter shortly after opening her doors, and said: “It has been absolutely fantastic.

“The atmosphere in the town and in the shop has been fantastic, it’s like Christmas Day and your birthday all rolled into one!

“Nothing beats one-to-one interaction with customers, and we are so grateful we can now open our doors and hear our wee bell ring and invite everybody back in again.

“We have been so well supported by our customers both new and old and that’s what has kept us going, but ultimately nothing beats having someone in the shop.”

Further up the street at Graham Enniskillen, Bryan Graham said: “It has been absolutely fantastic to reopen again after four months.

“The last time we had customers here it was Christmas Eve, so you can imagine how difficult that has been with suppliers [and] getting stock back in.

“The town is very busy and it is great to see, from the minute the door was opened there was quite a number of people in the shop, and quite a few items sold.”

The buzz around the town carried on throughout the bank holiday weekend, with some retailers having small queues forming outside of their premises.

On the same day there were Covid rule relaxations in other sectors including in gyms where exercise was firmly placed back on the agenda.

Outdoor dining was also relaxed, but had some hitches in Fermanagh.

The next review of restrictions will be on May 13. An indicative date of May 24 has been set for the reopening of indoor hospitality venues, and all tourism accommodation. This will be subject to review.