Nightclubs fail in bid to allow ‘Covid-secure’ dance floors

NIGHTCLUBS have proposed limiting the number of people on the dance floor and asking revellers to wear masks in an effort to convince the Government to allow them to open as a safer alternative to illegal raves.

However, their appeal failed to convince officials at the Department for Business, who confirmed yesterday they must stay closed.

The Night Time Industries Association said hundreds of thousands of jobs were at risk in the sector, one of the few yet to be given an indication of how and when it will reopen.

In a report supported by the Institute of Occupational Medicine, the trade body said it was possible for there to be a “risk-assessed” return to clubs, including thermal checks on entry and face coverings on the dance floor. The report said there was a strong argument to allow for nightclubs to reopen “bearing in mind the behaviour we are witnessing in unregulated environments such as beaches, parks and raves”.

A government spokesman said: “We know this is an incredibly difficult time for nightclubs, but they will need to remain closed for now in line with current scientific and medical advice.”

The association report acknowledged that reopening nightclubs would not be risk-free, but highlighted the fact that it already has security staff used to enforcing rules and regulations and that the same could be done for Covid-19 restrictions.

Michael Kill, the chief executive of the association, said: “In the absence of a clear reopening strategy from the Government, or the promise of financial support, huge numbers of businesses within our industry are facing financial collapse and thousands of job losses.”