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Today the Government of Wales has provided further guidance for Welsh hospitality companies to allow the industry to reopen on Monday 9 November.
Rules released earlier this week say that four adults from individual households can sit together, both indoors and outdoors, and must provide proof of address and identification. Testing, tracking and tracing will continue and customers must remain seated. You can read more about the post-fire cutoff rules here.
And today, the Welsh government has expanded those conditions, saying that tables should be reserved for a limited time only and discouraging people from visiting various venues.
The guide says: “Reservation periods / stay times of up to two hours should be considered as a general rule.”
The Welsh Government expanded on the rationale: “While the primary goal of these measures is to minimize the level of risk, ultimately it is everyone’s responsibility to consider what is sensible to prevent the spread of the virus.
“This includes continuing to ensure that security measures are in place, but also taking into account the risks associated with the amount of time people spend in hospitality venues, the number of people present, and the levels of ventilation. The longer a person passes the virus in a place and the more they interact with others, the greater the number of people who are likely to be infected.
“Also, the more people move between hospitality venues, the more likely the virus is to spread and the more difficult it becomes to locate contacts.”
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The guide also reiterates that the measures are installed with the belief that it is safer to regulate mixing in settings such as pubs and restaurants than in private homes.
For some places the time limit is a nuisance, mainly the pubs that are ‘wet led’, where most of the habit comes from those who go out for a drink, while for others, such as quick service restaurants They specialize in small and multiple plates, two just don’t take hours.
The Coconut Tree on Mill Lane in Cardiff is one of those places. Brand Director Anna Garrod welcomed the new rules: “Our freshly prepared Sri Lankan street food is always served ‘as it comes’ and this, coupled with the fact that we serve various dishes, small and large, directly to the table, it means that although it is a bit festive, it usually does not have more than two dishes.
“Two hours is enough time to get stuck with a couple of cocktails. Nobody feels rushed, and we feel like we can keep our tables turned in a cheerful atmosphere, but now more importantly, safe, restaurant space.”
Meanwhile, Jon Bassett of JWB Pubs, which has five locations in Cardiff and Newport, highlighted how the ‘rule of thumb’ would carefully consider how to manage customers and might not be feasible at all.
Jon said: “Considering the difficult work the Welsh government has to contain the virus, with our business model as it is, it is a scratch for us, the two hour rule.”
“Sports events on television play a very important role in our business and we pay a great cost to have them. Soccer is the main driver followed by rugby union and both sports can take more than two hours with replays, injuries and other stoppages.
“If a customer arrives half an hour early, for example, they will have to leave before the game is over. Obviously, that in itself could cause a number of problems. We can lose that customer forever by asking them to leave.
“Also, will that space be used before or after booking? It’s doubtful, isn’t it? I’m not looking for a way around it, I’m just wondering if it will be viable.”
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