LOCKED IN Northern Ireland will go into toughest 6-week UK lockdown yet on Boxing Day with 8pm curfew & blanket ban on meeting up Updated: 18 Dec 2020, 11:13 Invalid Date, NORTHERN Ireland will go into the toughest UK lockdown yet on Boxing Day - with a six-week shutdown and an 8pm curfew. People won't be allowed to meet up at all and any outdoor exercise must be done alone or with household members. 1 Shoppers in face masks walk through Belfast city centre last weekCredit: PA:Press Association Non-essential shops will shut from the end of trading on Christmas Eve and stay closed for six weeks.