Coronavirus: Pubs in England likely be exempt from any new restrictions

Government to focus on restricting mixing of households if outbreaks occur

Kate Ng
Tuesday 04 August 2020 08:47 BST
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Revellers hit the packed streets of Soho as bars and pubs reopen

Pubs in England will likely be exempted from any new coronavirus restrictions as the government seeks to focus on keeping any new lockdowns local and stopping households from mixing if outbreaks were to occur.

Local outbreaks caused by coronavirus transmissions between households led to emergency restrictions in the north of England. If infections become more widespread elsewhere, the government would focus on restricting social contact than close down parts of the hospitality industry.

According to The Guardian, a government source said information on the outbreaks suggested transmission was taking place from “household to household” and pubs were not the problem.

It comes after Professor Graham Medley told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday that pubs and other leisure venues may have to close in order to allow children to return to school in September.

He said: “It might come down to a question of which do you trade off against each other and then that’s a matter of prioritising. Do we think pubs are more important than schools?”

Although the government is determined for schools to reopen in September, it is keen to keep pubs and other parts of the hospitality industry on operation.

“Our approach is a localised one, where you would assess the situation on the ground and take whatever steps were required to slow the spread of the virus,” said the official spokesperson for Boris Johnson.

“More broadly, we are committed to supporting the hospitality industry, which has had a very tough time. It employs more than two million people, predominantly young people, and it’s important that we continue to support it.”

Chief medical officer Chris Whitty previously warned that England was now “near the limit” of the restrictions which can be relaxed without losing control of the virus.

He said during a press conference over the weekend: “If we wish to do more things in the future, we may have to do less of some other things.”

His warning was echoed in newly-released minutes of a Sage meeting that said: “There may be a need to change measures at the end of the summer in order to be able to keep R below 1 whilst proceeding with the planned reopening of schools.”

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