UK government instates 10 PM curfew on bars, pubs and restaurants as Covid-19 cases rise

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  • Prime minister Boris Johnson announced new restrictions on the hospitality industry today.
  • UK government instates 10 PM curfew on bars, pubs and restaurants as Covid-19 cases rise image
  • The UK government is tightening restrictions on socialising and the hospitality industry, namely pubs, bars and restaurants, due to the rise of reported Covid-19 cases in the country. In an announcement today, prime minister Boris Johnson said that bars, restaurants and pubs must be closed from 10 PM to 5 AM every day of the week. These spaces can only offer table service for groups up to six people, and customers are also required to wear masks at these establishments except when seated at a table. Trials of events with live audiences, planned for next month, have been put on hold. In other areas, workers are being encouraged to work from home instead of commuting into the office, weddings cannot be larger than 15 people, while funerals can have a maximum of 30 people. These measures could be in place for "perhaps six months," Johnson said. The Guardian breaks down all of today's new measures here. This will impact London's clubs and venues that have reopened in the pandemic and are experimenting with new formats, such as listening bar-style layouts and outdoor table service. Renowned Soho jazz club Ronnie Scott's has already tweeted that they'll need to adjust their programming in order to accomodate this new curfew. This also means that staff at these establishments will likely lose out on at least an hour's pay each night. Today the UK recorded 4,926 new cases of the coronavirus, which is the highest daily total of reported new cases since May. Over the summer, that number hovered between 500 and 1,500, shifting in early September to between 2,000 and 3,500 reported new cases a day. In the last week, that range has jumped to just under 4,000 or well over daily.
RA