Could a one-metre social distancing rule help NI’s hospitality sector?
With hotels, restaurants and bars shuttered across the country, it’s been a time of great adversity for the industry.
This week the hospitality industry was given a date for reopening. Hotels, restaurants and bars across NI will be allowed to reopen on July 3rd, but will face heavy restrictions.
Public houses and bars will be permitted to re-open from 3 July for the purposes of selling food and alcohol on a table service basis, while public houses and bars with outside spaces, such as beer gardens, will be able to use these spaces to serve alcohol on a table service basis.
These relaxations also apply to hotel restaurants, bars and outdoor areas. Spas and leisure facilities at hotels will not be permitted to open at this stage.
However, with a two-metre social distancing rule still in place, reopening may not be viable for many establishments.
There have been calls to reduce the distance from 2 metres to one metre. Current guidelines from The World Health Organisation say that a distance of one metre is safe.
Colin Neill, chief executive of Hospitality Ulster is hopeful of a reduction ahead of hospitality’s reopening.
He said: “In relation to the current 2m Social Distancing requirements, it is highly likely that many hospitality businesses will still be unable to reopen, as it simply will not be commercially viable. This is not about safe and unsafe, it is about safe and safer and we are encouraged by the discussion at NI Executive level led by Minister Dodds. I hope to see the distance reduced to 1m in line with WHO guidelines as soon as possible.
“With Covid19 still circulating amongst us, it is vital that our industry implements all possible measures to reduce the spread of the virus. Protecting our staff, our customers, and our communities is paramount,” he said.
“We have extensive industry specific guidance, drafted and ready to go, however until the UK Government releases its guidance for the sector, we are unable finalise and publish our guidelines. We expect that it will be issued in the coming days.”
Mr Neill concluded that the industry could begin to look forward with hope.
“We have come through some really challenging times in the past three months and now the planning starts to emerge safely. With the tragic loss of life due to Covid19, this is not a time for celebration, but it is a time for the many people that work in our industry to look forward with hope.
“We still have issues to deal with and are working with the government and local authorities to secure a flexible approach to using outdoors spaces in a bid to increase capacity, as even a 1m social distance will leave many businesses below breakeven.
“As part of our 12-point plan we are actively lobbying both the NI Assembly and Westminster for continued financial support, tax cuts and additional backing for businesses that cannot implement any level of social distancing.”
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