Covid in Scotland: Hospitality ‘death knell’ fears over new rules

In central Scotland where the infection rate is highest, pubs and restaurants will close for more than two weeks.

Elsewhere, hospitality venues will have reduced opening hours and be barred from selling alcohol inside.

The Scottish government said businesses would receive an additional £40m of government support.

The new temporary measures come into force at 18:00 tomorrow and are expected to last until 25 October.

Pubs and restaurants will be closed in five health board areas – Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, Forth Valley, Lothian and Ayrshire and Arran – where about 3.4 million people live.

Elsewhere in Scotland, hospitality venues can open inside from 06:00 until 18:00 to sell soft drinks and food, and customers can be served alcohol in outside areas only until 22:00.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon warned that without such measures, by the end of October infections could return to the levels seen early on in the pandemic in March, prompting a more intense lockdown.

She accepted the restrictions would be hard on businesses, especially as employers’ contributions to the furlough scheme have increased, but said £40m would be made available to support the sector.

‘Circle of madness’

Many businesses and industry leaders, however, reacted with dismay, complaining of a lack of consultation and claiming that hospitality was being unfairly singled out.

Carina Contini, who owns three restaurants in Edinburgh, said the restrictions were a “step too far”.

She said: “Here we go again. We did it in March when we thought that was a once in a lifetime shock to our business, shock to our communities, and you know, are we in a circle of madness? Having to have a 16-day closure, three weekends, significant cashflow implications, but most importantly our team are in shock, we’re in shock.”