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When the government announced last week that it intended to propose a temporary halt to the sale of alcohol in restaurants and bars starting at 10 p.m., it surprised Visita, which is the organization of the hotel industry.
Now Visit has submitted its response to the proposal – and there they are taking the heavy artillery. The organization believes that what the government is doing may be a crime.
– We question whether there is legal support for the government to issue an ordinance of this type, says Stefan Lundin.
According to Lundin it is He carefully regulated the cases of prohibitions or restrictions on sales through a regulation. These include war or the danger of war.
The Visiting General Counsel also believes that even if it is consistent with alcohol law for the government to issue such an ordinance, there must be “special reasons” for it.
But couldn’t measures to limit the spread of a dangerous disease constitute special reasons?
– Covid-19 is a serious disease and it is clear that action must be taken. But we already have measures to stop the spread of the infection, such as keeping the distance between the guests and that all consumption is done at the tables, Lundin responds.
– Also, it is unusual with the spread of the infection in restaurants, he adds.
This weekend he wrote DN about a US study that noted that there is actually a wide spread of infection in restaurants and bars
– I think it is important that we analyze the Swedish statistics. If you consider the regulations we already have, everything indicates that they work, says Lundin.
The hotel industry, to which restaurants belong, is one of the industries hardest hit by measures to stop the spread of the infection. They already have to maintain a special distance between guests, which means that a restaurant cannot accommodate as many guests as it was before the pandemic. It is also prohibited to consume food and drink standing up.
