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Drinkers Will Be Limited To Two Hours In Some Pubs

Drinkers Will Be Limited To Two Hours In Some Pubs

How many pints can you sink in two hours?

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

Drinkers in some parts of England will be limited to two hours in pubs and bars when they reopen later on today (4 July).

Doors have been allowed to open from as early as 6am, as the government begins the process of easing lockdown rules.

PA

Some pubs are making the decision to only take bookings for two or three hour slots in a bid to have a steady flow of clientele, while also enabling them to keep the number of punters in manageable figures - and keep the risk of spreading coronavirus to a minimum.

This comes as the two-metre distance rule has been cut down to one metre, which will enable venues to invite more people inside.

The time slots for drinkers will be down to the pubs, bars or restaurants themselves.

With regards to big chains, JD Wetherspoon won't be taking bookings, nor will there be a time restriction on how long people can be in there for. However, The Sun reports that managers can ask people to leave.

Fountain pub in Ashurst, Sussex.
PA

Yesterday (3 July), it was announced that pubs will be able to open from as early as 6am, in order to prevent pints from being served immediately after midnight.

The Press Association reported an official spokesperson for the government as saying that although many rules around easing of lockdown come into place from 12.01am, pubs will not be able to serve until the next morning.

The spokesman said: "Those regulations mostly come into force at 12.01am on Saturday July 4.

"The reopening of pubs and bars specifically comes into force at 6am. That would just be in the event anybody would attempt to try to open at midnight."

When asked if there was a limit on the amount of time people can spend in pubs, the spokesman said: "It's not part of the regulations, as I understand it. Pubs, and restaurants in particular, as I'm sure lots of us will know, do sometimes put limits on the amount of time you can have a table for, for example."

Barman Michael Fitzsimons wears PPE while pouring a pint during final preparations at The Faltering Fullback pub in North London.
PA

However, it was confirmed that the two-household limit will still stand for groups of people visiting pubs and restaurants.

And when it comes to other forms of nightlife - largely clubs, gigs and festivals - the rules are still not flexible enough to allow music events to restart.

The same goes for other indoor places, including nail bars and salons, indoor play areas, gyms, conference centres and exhibition halls.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: UK News, News, Pubs, Coronavirus, UK