Government considers closing pubs for a further five months

We can’t be in lockdown forever and one day we will be reunited with the pub, pint in hand. However, this scenario is looking more and more like a pipe dream as the government is now considering keeping pubs closed for a further five months.

Recently the UK has been plunged back into lockdown for the third time. This bout of confinement is said to last until mid-February but there has also been some speculation that it may last as long as late March.

Upon easing of lockdown measures it is understood that pubs and bars would be the last to reopen over social distancing fears. But, it now looks like this monumental moment in time is even further away than we thought as the government is considering keeping these establishments closed until the first bank holiday of May. A source spoke to The Sunday Times on the matter stating:

The May Day bank holiday is more likely the moment you see pubs reopening.

There is one shining glimmer of hope though as Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised to review lockdown measures every two weeks and is under a legal obligation to remove any unnecessary restrictions.

Boris recently addressed the public, describing that the easing of the lockdown ‘will not be a big bang but a gradual unwrapping.’

The PM went on to explain that this is the reasoning that lockdown legislation runs until the 31st of March. Not because the lockdown is expected to last that long, but because easing out of it will take time and some restrictions may be in place until this date:

Not because we expect the full national lockdown to continue until then, but to allow a steady, controlled and evidence-led move down through the tiers on a regional basis.

Ban on takeaway booze

Despite 2021 still being it’s most newborn weeks, this is not the only blow pubs have had to face as the government has also placed a ban on takeaway booze.

Previous lockdowns have allowed bars and pubs to continue operating on a takeaway basis. But as the new lockdown has come into force, this luxury has been taken away over further social distancing fears as people have been ordering their pints and congregating outside.

Looks like a bit of a dry spell is in the cards for Brits this year.