6pm closing time ‘a final blow’ to the Welsh pubs
PUBS, bars and restaurants in Wales will have to stop selling alcohol and close their doors by 6pm in new pre-Christmas restrictions, first minister Mark Drakeford has announced.
The rules, which have been condemned as the ‘final blow’ for brewers and publicans, will also see cinemas, bowling alleys and other indoor venues forced to shut from 6pm on Friday until they are reviewed on December 17. Takeaways are exempt.
Three weeks after the end of Wales’s 17-day firebreak lockdown, the nation has seen another rise in virus cases.
Yesterday, Mr Drakeford told a Cardiff press conference that, unless further restrictions were put in place, there could be 2,200 people in hospital with Covid by January 12, and another 1,600 could die.
The first minister admitted the rules would be ‘difficult’ as they come at a busy time of year, but said: ‘The measures we are taking are based on what the UK Sage group of experts tells us has worked best elsewhere.’
But James Calder, chief executive of the Society of Independent Brewers, branded the decision ‘the final blow for small breweries and pubs in Wales who rely on the Christmas trading period’. He added: ‘There is no evidence to justify these new targeted restrictions. ‘Without real, targeted support, many small breweries will not survive the winter period.’
The Welsh government pledged to give ‘the most generous package of financial assistance in the UK’ to those affected, including grants from the £160million Restrictions Business Fund and the £180million Economic Resilience Fund.