Cheltenham pub landlord has "mixed feelings" about coronavirus ahead of winter period
The Prime Minister laid out his Winter Covid Plan yesterday
A Cheltenham pub landlord has "mixed feelings" about coronavirus ahead of the winter period.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister has set out the government's autumn and winter plan for managing Covid.
It's set out a renewed focus on the vaccine roll out which will see the over 50s, health workers and the clinically vulnerable offered a third booster vaccine in England.
This will be supported by testing public health advice, and a world-leading variant surveillance system.
Last year the hospitality industry was heavily impacted by the virus which saw the government do a U-turn over advice around Christmas plans.
The tiered system in local areas meant many venues were unable to open and those who were able to had touch restrictions imposed on them, like having to serve people outside.
Mike Huysinga owns three pubs in Cheltenham; The Exmouth Arms, The Royal and The Strand.
"I think there are mixed feelings about Christmas this year", he says.
"We have got a menu out which we'll put online but I'm not going to put too many investments behind it this year.
"We've got customers who've been coming to use for years so we've got a good fan base as it were but I think think there's always that caveat to say that times are always chaning - but I do think people are used to that now."
The booster programme will get underway next week which will see third doses offered to 30 million people.
Meanwhile, the Health Secretary Sajid Javid's refused to rule out another lockdown – saying the nature of the pandemic means we can’t ever be certain.
Mike added: "We still have measures in place to keep people safe against Covid and I think that's all we can do really.
"There's a large minority of people who still aren't coming out so we're making sure people like that are feeling as comfortable as possible, so all my staff are wearing masks, we've got hand sanitiser and there are posters telling people it's okay if they want to wear one so they don't feel embarrassed to.
"I am looking forward to Christmas though. I am confident it will be a lot better than last year which was just chaos."