Wetherspoon pubs see lull before limit on group size
Pub giant Wetherspoons has said trading was“very quiet” over the weekend, before restrictions on larger social gatherings came into effect.
Tim Martin, founder and chairman, said the lull came as the public “weighed up the evidence about the alleged dangers of going out – Wetherspoon sales were 22.5 per cent below the equivalent Saturday last year ”. He also said he believes the safety of pubs during the pandemic has been “widely misunderstood”.
Wethersp o ons, which has
invested around £15 million in its social distancing and hygiene measures, said about 32 million people have visited its pubs since the start of July, with 66 positive tests for Covid-19 among its 41,564 employees since then. The firm said most reported cases have been mild or asymptomatic and 28 of the 66 workers affected have already returned to work after self-isolating – while 811 pubs have reported no positive tests ,40 have reported one, six pubs two, two pubs three and two pubs four.