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Chancellor Rishi Sunak has advocated encouraging people to return to pubs and restaurants during the summer, before the government was forced to take further steps to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
Sunak’s “Eat Out To Help Out” scheme offered Britons discounted meals during August as ministers tried to jumpstart the economy after the UK shutdown.
Since then, pubs, bars and restaurants, along with the rest of the hospitality industry, have received a 10 p.m. curfew as the government tries to deal with a second wave of COVID-19 infections.
But, speaking to Sky News, the chancellor played down a possible link between his plan and the growing increase in cases across the country, as he cautioned against “jumping to simplistic conclusions.”
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Rishi Sunak defended his plan Eat Out To Help Out
“More generally, if you think about the spread of the virus this time around, what’s happening here is pretty much in sync with what’s happening around the world in the second waves,” he said.
“Whether in France or Spain, where very specifically our scientists said that we were following exactly the same curve.
“So actually this seems to be more of a characteristic of the virus and the season than something specific.”
Mr. Sunak highlighted how the Southwest had seen the greatest use of the Eat Out To Help Out scheme, in proportion to the size of the local population, and was now a region with some of the lowest incidences of COVID-19 “anywhere. from the country”.
He added: “There is a big difference between correlation and causation, so I suppose I would be cautious about drawing simplistic conclusions.”
Analysis of Public Health England’s coronavirus data had revealed that “a very small percentage” of the causes of transmission were hospitality settings, the chancellor said.
“One thing we know is, and I talk to our scientists almost every day, it is incredibly difficult at such a granular level to pinpoint exactly the cause of transmission,” he added.
“So I think we should have some humility about our ability to do that.”
Mr. Sunak also pointed out how the mix of households within households was the “key source” of transmission in parts of the country, such as the Midlands.
“Depending on where you are in the country, the exact source of the spread of the virus will vary and that is why our response can be targeted and nuanced to the situation we face,” he said.
