BEER TO BE RATIONED!

TWO-PINT limit for boozers when pubs reopen after lockdown

BEER could be RATIONED to just TWO pints per punter after the coronavirus lockdown ends and bars reopen.

Pubs could reopen if landlords served limited booze to customers – and then asked them to go home to help with social distancing measures.

Lockdown adviser Professor Eyal Winter, of Lancaster University, said people were “starving” for pubs – which he described as “an important part of British culture”.

Mr Winter, an economist advising politicians on how to

ease the coronavirus restrictions, said social distancing would have to be enforced if pubs reopen after being shut since March 23.

One possible method would be to stagger the number of people going into pubs over the course of a day to avoid them getting “very full” at any one point.

Fears

He said those flouting the rules should be fined, amid fears some people would behave unacceptably as soon as lockdown measures cease.

And he said theatres and cinemas could also reopen – but only selling half as many tickets as normal, with gaps in seating and higher prices to cover lower revenue.

Mr Winter said Britain should follow the approach of the Germans, with clear dates and targets on reducing restrictions as the country leaves the lockdown.

He explained: “One of the most important things is to have a programme to say, ‘ in two weeks we will do such and such…’

“You need to make the rules crystal clear and explain the rationale behind each one of them.”

On Saturday, another Government adviser told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that beer gardens should be allowed to reopen to drinkers.

“If it is a sunny weekend afternoon and the pub has a garden and the landlords are prepared to accept responsibility for not overcrowding the garden, I see no particular reason why it should not reopen,” said Professor Robert Dingwall.