The Prime Minister said the new curbs could continue well beyond Christmas and New Year “unless we palpably make progress” in controlling the spread of the virus. But industry leaders claim the drastic measures will only have a limited effect on preventing a second wave of infections and have demanded clarification from ministers.
Government data shows that just five percent of infections out of the home are related to hospitality
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of trade body UKHospitality, said: “It is hard to understand how these measures are the solution to fighting the disease when Government data shows that just five percent of infections out of the home are related to hospitality.”
Ms Nicholls called for urgent clarification on whether the new 10pm curfew is when trading must cease or whether it is when pubs must shut – which would restrict most outlets to just one sitting.
She told the BBC: “It depends how the Government frames this. If they draft it as cease trading at 10pm, the impact will be lessened, but if as in the North East and North West, where you have to clear the premises and empty the premises and have it closed up by 10pm, that will have a significant economic impact.
Boris Johnson’s latest coronavirus restrictions have been criticised by hospitality chiefs (Image: PA)
“In effect it reduces revenue by 50 percent because you need to call last orders for food by 9pm, so you can get everyone out of the door, so you can only have one sitting.
“And with pubs now fully seated and table service, the same applies to pubs.
“Although it’s a small change, it will wipe out the shift of jobs at the end of the evening.”
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Pubs and restaurants will have to close at 10pm under the new coronavirus curfew (Image: GETTY)
New coronavirus measures could lead to more job losses in the hospitality sector (Image: GETTY)
Martin Wolstencroft, head of Arch Inspirations, which runs 17 bars and restaurants in Leeds, Manchester, York and Newcastle, warned the curfew would mean the closure of some of his venues.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The 10pm curfew will be absolutely devastating for our business.
“It’s just such disastrous news. We’ve worked so hard after lockdown to build up our business after 12 weeks, to build up the confidence of our teams and our customers.
“We’ve done really well in Eat Out to Help Out to get ourselves moving again. So to hear this news this week, it’s so frustrating.
“We may as well not open some of our bars.
Coronavirus cases (Image: EXPRESS.CO.UK)
“After 10pm is really when we start making money because that’s when we get busier and it won’t cover our costs during the day.
“It’s just really frustrating, we don’t know how long it’s going to be for or what happens next.
“It’s going to be the final nail in the coffin for many many operators.
“It’s just disastrous news.”
Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, said the curfew could have unintended consequences and warned of a “a surge of unregulated events and house parties which are the real hot-beds of infection, attended by frustrated young people denied access to safe and legitimate night-time hospitality venues”.
The fresh blow to the hospitality sector came as industry giant Whitbread, which operates the Premier Inn, Beefeater pubs and Brewers Fayre chains, announced it was shedding up to 6,000 jobs.
The Wetherspoon pub chain also said it had written 1,000 staff who work at its airport branches to warn them that between 400 and 450 jobs are at risk of redundancy.
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Boris Johnson and Wetherspoon’s boss Tim Martin during last year’s general election campaign (Image: GETTY)
Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin was also critical of the Government’s new coronavirus rules.
He said: “What does a curfew do? It says everyone has to go at 10pm, so that doesn’t mean you can’t get a virus.
“Most people think of a pub, a vision from their youth, people dancing, loud music and raucous behaviour.
“Most pubs are not like that and no pub when operating social distancing is like that.”
