FIRST ORDERS!
THIRSTY PUBLIC SET TO POUR BACK TO THE PUB AS BEER GARDENS, SHOPS AND GYMS FINALLY REOPEN
IT’S a reason to be beer-ful! A pint with pals is finally a reality again in England as pub gardens reopen for the first time since January.
Pub, bar and restaurant owners have been preparing for a flood of customers, after being bombarded with bookings since Boris Johnson set a timetable for them to reopen.
Establishments can serve customers in outdoor areas from today – as non-essential shops, hairdressers, indoor gyms, swimming pools, nail salons and zoos also welcome back the public. Customers will be allowed inside drinking venues from May 17.
Half of Britons have made plans to celebrate today’s easing with a prompt dash for a pub or restaurant, a poll by investment bank Jefferies shows.
‘We have taken lots of bookings and are so excited to open – it’s been so 1,730
7 NEW DEATHS 127,087 32,121,353 7,466,540 135,549,733 2,930,699
long,’ said Henry Cripps, from The Three Oaks pub in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire. ‘We realise that almost everything for the next five weeks is weather dependent so we have everything crossed for sun.’
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), said: ‘That first pint back in the beer garden is going to be a special moment. People across the country have been looking forward to it for months.’ But only 40 per cent of pubs – 15,000 – were set to open today.
The BBPA anticipates venues will sell 15million pints this week, compared to 85million across a normal Easter weekend, with those opening today almost certain to make a loss.
It is also concerned over suggestions that vaccine passports could be needed for entry and changes to guidelines on how pubs operate.
Ms McClarkin added: ‘It’s crucial the government sticks to its road map and allows pubs to reopen indoors from May 17 and without any restrictions at all from June 21.
‘That is the only way our pubs can trade viably and begin to fully recover.’
Last summer, one member of each group in a pub needed to sign in – but this time venues have to record every customer. Groups must also follow the rule of six or be made up of no more than two households. But they will not need to order a meal with alcohol and there will be no 10pm curfew.
Boris Johnson urged the nation to ‘behave responsibly’ during the ‘major step forward’, as scientists warned the rules must be followed to minimise a possible rebound in cases.
The prime minister said: ‘I’m sure it will be a huge relief for those business owners who have been closed for so long, and for everyone else it’s a chance to get back to doing some of the things we love. I urge everyone to continue to behave responsibly and remember “hands, face, space and fresh air” to suppress Covid.’
Meanwhile, the daily virus death toll dropped into single figures for the first time since September yesterday, as another seven people died within 28 days of a positive test. New cases fell to a seven-month low of 1,730.
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