Restaurateurs group demands new hours

RESTAURANTS should be allowed to open at 7am and close at 11pm, including on Sundays, the Restaurateurs Association (ResBir) demanded in a letter sent to the Communicable Diseases High Committee on Monday.

According to the Covid-19 restrictions announced late last Friday, April 30, restaurants, cafes, patisseries and taverns can only operate from 10am to 8:30pm, and can only provide delivery services on Sundays.

The letter sent by Res-Bir to the Communicable Diseases High Committee said: “It has been roughly two months since you allowed us to open the outdoor spaces of our businesses [following the second lockdown].

“When we reopened our businesses, coronavirus cases were around 70 to 80 per day. At the moment, cases have decreased to 30 to 40.

“We believe we are now reaping the benefits of the country’s general reopening . . . According to information we have obtained from various statements, transmission [of the coronavirus] is now occurring mostly between family members in their homes.

“We believe the reason for this is that because our people are still unable to go to restaurants, cafes and bars to sit outdoors in the evenings and on Sundays, they continue to meet up indoors in their homes.

“Our request is that you change the opening and closing hours of our workplaces to 7am to 11pm, including Sundays.”