The government is expected to to pour cold water on Wetherspoon’s plans to reopen its hotels and pubs in the ‘near future’.
The deputy chief medical officer for England was quick to shoot down hopes that beer gardens could reopen any time soon.
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam told reporters at the daily Downing Street briefing that it was important social distancing measures were eased gradually so as not to risk a return of more COVID-19 cases and deaths.
Founder Tim Martin had said the following earlier this afternoon:
”The Covid-19 outbreak is having a severe impact on the UK pub sector. In these challenging times I would like to thank everyone at the company, its suppliers, landlords, banks and the government for their support and commitment.
“We’ve had to take significant action to reduce costs, decisions which have not been taken lightly. We look forward to re-opening our pubs and hotels and welcoming back our teams in the near future.”
