Hospitality bosses warn new covid restrictions are a 'knock-out blow'
They come into force after Christmas
Hospitality bosses are once again calling for the return of furlough and more financial support after further restrictions for the sector were announced yesterday.
From December 27th, for a three-week period, restaurants and bars serving alcohol will have to be table service only. There will also have to be one-metre distance between groups.
It comes as Omicron is now firmly established as the dominant strain of coronavirus in Scotland.
Updating MSPs, the First Minister said 62.9% of cases showed the S-gene dropout.
Nicola Sturgeon said: "It is currently spreading rapidly across Scotland, and so the steep increase in infections that was predicted last week has now started to materialise."
She said more restrictions were needed to slow the spread of the virus.
'Knock-out blow'
Colin Wilkinson, managing director, SLTA (Scottish Licensed Trade Association) has warned the rules ‘could well be the knock-out blow for many in the battered and bruised licensed hospitality sector in Scotland.’
He adds, “A limit of 100 people for indoor standing events and 200 for indoor seating events – although this does not apply to private life events such as weddings – will hugely impact on the late-night industry which has been hit particularly hard since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“In addition, the cancellation of large-scale events such as Edinburgh’s Hogmanay will have a knock-on effect on the licensed hospitality sector.
“However, the damage was done when Public Health Scotland advised deferring Christmas parties until another time. Endorsed by the Scottish Government the next day, this led to a slew of cancellations and, effectively, the end of any chance the licensed hospitality sector of clawing back lost business at what is traditionally the busiest trading period of the year.”
'Support remains woeful'
New research from the Night-Time Industries Association (NTIA) shows that average sales are down 52% across the sector in December so far, with the average loss of income now £56,000 per premises for the first two weeks of December alone, with fears the trend is accelerating.
A statement from the organisation says: “Whilst it is appreciated that Scottish Government is constrained in their ability to provide funding, and we are grateful for the rapid response of Cabinet Secretary Forbes in meeting with our sector last week, it remains the case that support provided by government both in Holyrood and Westminster remains woefully short of addressing the economic harm and sectoral need already experienced.
"We urge UK Government to immediately reimplement furlough and provide adequate support to the devolved nations so that businesses across the UK can survive what is now looking like the toughest point of the pandemic to date.”