Well, there we have it. After days of uncertainty over the status of the hospitality industry, the Prime Minister came down firmly in today's Covid briefing. All restaurants, bar and cafes are to close as soon as possible today and they are not to reopen.
Anyone tempted to go out tonight one last time was urged not to: "You may think you're invincible but there's no guarantee you'll get mild symptoms. And you can still be a carrier of the disease and pass it on to others... These are places that people come together and indeed the whole purpose of these people is to bring people together. But the sad thing is today that for now physically we need to keep people apart."
He said he would review the situation every month to see if any of the measures could be relaxed.
And, usefully, this time he was careful to clarify that restaurants could still continue to provide take out services.
In addition, the chancellor Rishi Sunak announced how the government's supporting those people whose jobs are at risk - many of who are in the hospitality industry.
- The government will pay the wages of those people whose roles are furloughed, with a job retention scheme. Any company will be able to apply for a grant - 80% or salaries up to 2.X a month
- This is backdated to March 1, and will be in place for at least 3 months
- The first wages will be paid by the end of April
So there are glimmers of hope here. We'll update with a response from those in the hospitality industry soon.
Keep track of all the restaurants that have switched to delivery and takeaway on our regularly updated page.
