What restrictions will there be?
From April 12, drinkers and diners must comply with a tightening of testing and traceability rules, which previously required that only one person from each group register their presence on the NHS Covid app.
All customers must register under the new regulations, making it easier for the NHS to contact anyone who may have come into contact with someone infected with the virus.
Boris Johnson previously indicated that coronavirus vaccine certificates could be introduced by ads at owners’ discretion, but confirmed in his April 5 announcement that certification of Covid status, as the government calls it, will not be not required when people go to the pub. from April 12 – this will not be the third stage of the roadmap, either, when the sites can serve customers inside.
Pilot projects to test Covid passports are planned at major events in April and May and will test how large gatherings can safely take place again.
The government defines Covid certificates or passports as something that can show you’ve had a stroke, negative test, or antibodies. This could turn one of the NHS ‘smartphone apps into a Covid digital passport, meaning you can take proof of vaccination, a test or antibodies with you.
Customers will be allowed to pay inside as a last resort. Drinkers had been advised to take cash to the pub with them to avoid falling under new rules that say staff should accept out-of-town payments, but the guidelines were changed after bosses industry have complained that poor rural broadband and mobile signal means card machines cannot be used in a few pub gardens.
How many people will be allowed to drink together?
Groups of people are allowed to eat and / or drink outside in pubs and restaurants as long as they follow the rule of six, which allows half a dozen people from different households to meet – or if they come from two different households. This means that two large families can be found outside even if there are more than six people together.
It is only on May 17th at the earliest that pubs and restaurants will be able to open interior spaces. At this point, the six and two household rule will be introduced indoors. It will be lifted outdoors, which means people will be able to meet in larger groups in outdoor gardens or at an outdoor dinner.
Will there still be a 10 p.m. curfew and a substantive meal rule?
No, in both cases. The 10 p.m. curfew that was introduced in the hospitality industry in 2020 will be lifted when the premises reopen.
The so-called Scottish egg rule has also been abandoned; customers will not be required to order a large meal with their drink. This will provide relief to MPs as well as clients, after ministers confused what constituted a “substantial” meal.
Owners and restaurateurs grappled with the lack of clarification on the restrictions last year, while some police forces were criticized for their “overzealous” patrols of pubs.
