Super Saturday as pubs reopen in England
United Kingdom | What was the government thinking? It designated the US Independence Day – 4 July – as the moment England ends its 15 week-long hibernation and flocks to the pub.
Why didn’t they reopen on 29 June 2020, a Monday, like in the Republic of Ireland, to ease people in gradually and allow bar staff to get used to the new rules?
When this pertinent question was put to Prime Minister Boris Johnson on 3 July, he couldn’t offer a convincing explanation. This left The Guardian newspaper to conclude “that his government of geniuses picked Saturday solely because of the pleasing headlines that the Fourth of July suggested – rather forgetting that this is the day when Americans celebrate their escape from the rule of a dysfunctional London elite” led by the then Prime Minister Lord North in 1776.
Super Saturday or Superspreaderday?
While thousands of punters across the country were keen to return, the police and hospitals braced for chaos and fears of a spike in coronavirus cases.
The day after, the Sun newspaper headlined “revellers caused mayhem last night as thirsty Brits downed 15 million pints and some pubs were forced to shut after ‘major disorder’.” Photos showed streets, where punters kept no social distancing at all, and drunken party-goers who had keeled over. No face masks were to be seen, except on the faces of bar staff.
It has since been reported that only a few days after the official reopening, several pubs in the west (Burnham-on-Sea), north (Batley) and south (Alverstoke) of England had to be shut again because some of their patrons have been tested positive for coronavirus.
Wales and Scotland more cautious
Other parts of the UK decided to do things differently. Northern Ireland allowed its pubs and restaurants to reopen one day ahead of England. On 3 July, they threw their doors open under condition that they must serve food and operate on a table service basis; those pubs that do not serve food will be allowed to sell alcohol outdoors only.
Some pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants in Wales were able to reopen outdoors from 13 July, under Welsh Government plans. But indoor services will remain closed for now, despite industry pressure. Pub chain Wetherspoon said it would not reopen its beer gardens if indoor areas were still closed.
Wales is the only part of the UK without a restart date for indoor hospitality. In Scotland, pubs could open their beer gardens from 6 July and indoors from 15 July.
UK sales of beer have slumped to the lowest level on the record because of the coronavirus outbreak, the British Beer and Pub Association reports. In the first quarter of this year, overall sales were down 7.2 percent year-on-year, the trade body said in its latest “Beer Barometer” survey.
