What are the new Covid-19 measures for pubs?
The hospitality industry is facing extra restrictions as the Government tries to avoid taking the dire step of closing bars and restaurants again.
Boris Johnson has announced a raft of new measures in a bid to get Covid-19 transmission under control without resorting to a national lockdown.
With socialising blamed for the surge in infections, the hospitality sector will bear the brunt of the latest restrictions.
Here’s what you need to know.
– What’s the current situation?
Some of the UK’s most senior scientists made some dire warnings on Monday and the threat level was ramped up to level four, meaning transmission “is high or rising exponentially”.
Chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance warned we could be facing 50,000 new coronavirus cases a day by mid-October and a daily death toll of 200 by mid-November unless rapid action is taken.
– Closing times
From Thursday evening, all pubs, bars, restaurants and other venues in England will be required to close by 10pm.
The 10pm curfew, used elsewhere in local lockdowns, will be rolled out across the country to try to prevent alcohol-fuelled breaches of social distancing rules.
– No propping up the bar
Say goodbye to your favourite bar stool for a while – from Thursday evening all sectors of the hospitality industry will be restricted by law to table service only.
Maintaining social distancing when the bar queue is 3ft deep at last orders was always going to be a challenge.
– Keep washing those hands
As more measures are announced, the Government will still be hammering home its “hands, face, space” message as the most effective form of virus control.
The Prime Minister is due to urge the nation to stick to social distancing, regular hand washing and wearing face coverings in a bid to avoid a second national lockdown.
– What happens next?
The PM has two big meetings lined up on Tuesday to figure out how far the UK needs to go to try to get the spread of the virus under control before the colder weather hits.
The Cabinet is due to meet before Mr Johnson sets out the changes to social distancing measures in a statement to Parliament.
He will also chair a Cobra emergency committee including the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
– What does the Government say?
The Government knows that this extra blow to hospitality – especially after so much was spent on trying to support it through the “Eat Out to Help Out” scheme – will be a bitter pill to swallow.
A spokesman for Number 10 said: “No-one underestimates the challenges the new measures will pose to many individuals and businesses.
“We know this won’t be easy, but we must take further action to control the resurgence in cases of the virus and protect the NHS.”
– What is happening to restrictions in other UK nations?
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is expected to announce further measures across Scotland after the Cobra meeting on Tuesday morning.
In Northern Ireland, new restrictions mean no mixing of two households in private dwellings, except for single-person bubbles and certain other exemptions, from 6pm on Tuesday.
No more than six people from two households can meet in private gardens, with children under 12 not counted in the total.
In Wales, local lockdown measures will be extended to Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport and Blaenau Gwent from 6pm on Tuesday, restricting household meetings to outdoors only.
All licensed premises such as pubs have to close at 11pm.
