In a bid to help boost the hospitality industry after the hundreds of thousands lost during the course of the pandemic, Boris Johnson has told Conservative MPs he is looking to scrap the one-metre plus rule for social distancing in pubs as of 21 June.
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No more social distancing
As daily COVID deaths have dropped to single-digit numbers for the past few weeks, the PM is considering no longer forcing pub-goers to measure the distance between each other when indoors.
Mr. Johnson explained that getting rid of such restriction would account for 'the single biggest difference' the government could make in order to bring Britain's pubs back to life. One MP confirmed Boris Johnson's intentions of removing all social restrictions by saying that:
He [Johnson] seemed very upbeat about removing the one-metre-plus rule next month. He told us he fully realises that it is the biggest difference the government can make to letting pubs serve customers in reasonably normal conditions and that means getting rid of any capacity restrictions.
As long as measured distance is imposed onto restaurants, pubs, theatres, cinemas and other hospitality businesses, they would not be able to make a full come-back as they would only be generating a fraction of their normal revenue.
Positive figures in the UK
Despite concerns of the Indian variant's rapid spread throughout the country, more than 21 million people have been fully inoculated in the UK. What's more, upwards of 70% of all adults have now received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine prompting experts to believe that the end of all restrictions is very near.
Emma McClarkin, Chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association expressed her support for the abolition of social distancing in order to ensure survival of the hospitality industry:
Given pubs are financially unviable under the current restrictions they face, being able to reopen without any restrictions at all from June 21 is going to be vital to their survival.
