Pubs want to halve the two metre rule

[editor]

I guess it's the only way they're ever going to stand a chance of being viable... I think it could work in some pubs, but there's some I'd definitely avoid as there simply wouldn't be enough space to avoid getting close to people (and I'd take a mask and sanitiser to every pub and use when I felt necessary).

Thoughts?

British pub companies want the government to halve the two-metre social distancing rule.

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), which represents the industry, said many pubs would struggle to open under current guidelines.

It said World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines suggested a one metre distance, half that in place in the UK.

A government spokesman said current rules stated pub workers should work two metres apart, where possible.

Some pubs are currently open but are only allowed to operate as takeaways.

Normal pub facilities have been closed since 20 March. The government said they could reopen on 4 July at the earliest if the UK meets targets to suppress the virus and its impact. As yet there is no full guidance on how their operations have to adapt amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, said: "Reopening in July will be great for those pubs who can meet the social-distancing measures required by then.

"However, it must be recognised that no two pubs are the same and for many, ensuring a distance of two metres will be impossible, keeping them closed for much longer. Actioning advice from the WHO for example to use one metre for social distancing from July would enable many more pubs to viably reopen."

Jonathan Neame, chief executive of pub chain Shepherd Neame, said halving the two-metre rule would make a "profound difference" to the economics of the company's 320 sites.

"Very simplistically it more than doubles it, and if an outlet is able to get double the capacity in and if society and customers feel comfortable at one metre then ultimately this has a direct impact on the number of jobs that can be retained," he said.

Greene King said "it is something we are looking at" with its trade associations, which includes the BBPA. Marston's and JD Wetherspoon declined to comment, and referred the BBC to the BBPA.

Fuller's told the Financial Times it backed a relaxation of the rules once pubs open their doors again.

Fuller's chief executive Simon Emeny said the UK's guidelines went "above and beyond" the WHO's recommendation and relaxing social distancing to one metre would allow four times more customers in pubs.

Coronavirus: Pubs call time on two metre rule

Pub and bar owners want social-distancing rules relaxed to just one metre when they reopen for business.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[dessiato]

This is the big problem with British drinking culture compared to iberia. Here we have many pavement and terrace cafes/bars which means it's easier to distance and control how people are interacting. British drinking is much more an indoor activity which means it's going to be a lot more difficult separate the people, and to ensure that the air is being cleared rather than recycled.

I think that a 1m distance isn't enough. People spending time together in a closed environment is likely to lead to a second spike sooner rather than later.

 

[MrSki]

I heard the resident expert Dr on 5Live say 1.5 metres is a safe enough distance for droplets to fall. Different matter if someone sneezes or coughs!

 

[The39thStep]

Two metre signs are plastered everywhere inside bars but we’ve got the weather here for outside drinking all year round

 

[Epona]

What they need to do (at least for venues without sizeable beer gardens) is scrap bylaws where they exist about drinking on the street, so that folks can buy a beer and wander around outside rather than being crammed indoors or on the small area of pavement where the smokers usually huddle.

 

[Teaboy]

This is the big problem with British drinking culture compared to iberia. Here we have many pavement and terrace cafes/bars which means it's easier to distance and control how people are interacting. British drinking is much more an indoor activity which means it's going to be a lot more difficult separate the people, and to ensure that the air is being cleared rather than recycled.

I think that a 1m distance isn't enough. People spending time together in a closed environment is likely to lead to a second spike sooner rather than later.

Not really the culture but the climate. We'll have a couple of months of beer gardens but even then its still a bit cold of an evening time to be outside in many parts of the UK.

In general its hard to see how the virus can be contained and the pubs fully open.

 

[cupid_stunt]

Someone needs to start manufacturing face masks with a hole for straws to be attached, sorted.

 

[BassJunkie]

I think this will be a problem for a long time. I find myself wanting to just go into a very busy pub and have to push my way through the crowd to the bar. I think because it seems so unattainable at the moment. That'll be my benchmark for when things have returned to normal.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Annoyingly I think Spoons has the model that will work;

Table service via the app.
Large, open hall so able to have many tables that are a safe distance apart.
No drinking at the bar.

 

[Roadkill]

Annoyingly I think Spoons has the model that will work;

Table service via the app.
Large, open hall so able to have many tables that are a safe distance apart.
No drinking at the bar.

Unfortunately I think you're right. But I'd rather nail my testicles to the wall than give that gammon-faced cunt Tim Martin a penny of my hard earned. Wetherspoons are for one thing and one thing only: the toilets.

 

[kalidarkone]

Someone needs to start manufacturing face masks with a hole for straws to be attached, sorted.

A mask with a hole will negate the point of a mask-so no it's not.
Mandatory hand washing before and after going to the toilet would help.

 

[Cid]

A lot of people in a confined space talking loudly, doesn’t seem a great idea. Talking loudly being relevant because of the possible aerosol route of transmission.

 

[Orang Utan]

Think I will just stay away

 

[strung out]

Someone needs to start manufacturing face masks with a hole for straws to be attached, sorted.

Yeah, and condoms with a hole to piss out of too.

 

[cupid_stunt]

A mask with a hole will negate the point of a mask-so no it's not.

No shit, Sherlock.

* I wasn't being serious.

 

[MrSki]

A few tinnies down the park for a daytime drink for me.

 

[kalidarkone]

No shit, Sherlock.

* I wasn't being serious.

There are a lot of really stupid people out there who no doubt when the time comes probably go to the pub with a mask with a hole for a straw. So sorry I thought you were one

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

I think this is part of a whole load of wider issues that we're going to see more of. There's going to be a lot of decisions everyone has to make around risk which are going to be really tricky. The 2m rule isn't really going to stick longer term (it's always been more of a 2m aspiration around where I am, and that's just from pure numbers not people behaving badly) and we're going to be invited to make all sorts of choices, probably without the information required to make them properly.

 

[Supine]

Someone needs to start manufacturing face masks with a hole for straws to be attached, sorted.

Already done

WHO guideline is 1m only. I'd be happy with that and it'd half queues at shops.

 

[strung out]

There are a lot of really stupid people out there who no doubt when the time comes probably go to the pub with a mask with a hole for a straw. So sorry I thought you were one

Already being manufactured!

 

[Roadkill]

My sister tells me that a bar near where she lives in Germany has now reopened, and they're making all punters wear metre-long balloons on their heads to encourage them to stay two metres away from one another. She did send a picture, and it just looks as if they're all walking around with gigantic penises sticking out of their heads.

 

[Mrs Miggins]

I can't imagine going to a busy pub. I really have become quite fearful of being close to other people.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Mandatory hand washing before and after going to the toilet would help.

I said before the pubs closed that I'd never seen so many blokes washing their hands properly in the gents before.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

I can't imagine going to a busy pub. I really have become quite fearful of being close to other people.

Think of the drunk prat lurching around, bumping in to you etc. Fills me with fear.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

I said before the pubs closed that I'd never seen so many blokes washing their hands properly in the gents before.

You mean two seconds under a feeble stream of water and a wipe down the front of your jeans doesn't kill the virus?

 

[Orang Utan]

I'd rather stay at home than go to a pub than make a futile attempt to socially distance with friends

 

[The39thStep]

What they need to do (at least for venues without sizeable beer gardens) is scrap bylaws where they exist about drinking on the street, so that folks can buy a beer and wander around outside rather than being crammed indoors or on the small area of pavement where the smokers usually huddle.

Or alter them so that pubs/ bars can apply for an exemption outside their premises subject to complying with social distancing guidance.

 

[Orang Utan]

You mean two seconds under a feeble stream of water and a wipe down the front of your jeans doesn't kill the virus?

you wipe your hands on your mask these days

 

[Supine]

Pub ready

 

[The39thStep]

Think of the drunk prat lurching around, bumping in to you etc. Fills me with fear.

I find the words fuck off and stand somewhere else are usually effective .