It's worth remembering that if we were following English rules, South Wales would be in a Tier 3 lockdown, meaning all pubs and restaurants would be shut.
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It's worth remembering that if we were following English rules, South Wales would be in a Tier 3 lockdown, meaning all pubs and restaurants would be shut.
I suppose the data changes on a daily basis and the government have to react to what the experts are saying. The state can't legislate for people who take the piss, they're not in a position where they can be selective with peoples choices based on their sensibilities. What we don't want is very high hospital admissions over the winter leading to more death and stress on health workers. I've not seen the data, but if these new rules mean that some people don't die this winter and health workers aren't stressed to shit and back over the winter, then so be it. I'd rather we take a cautious approach, even if the evidence later shows that it was unwarranted.
Long closure for pubs I reckon.
Johnson is looking at another vote in February to extend the tiers into March. With the 5 day piss up in the house coming up and people packing out the shops on Boxing Day I cant see the r rate coming down.
Cant see Drakeford lifting this until into the Spring.
We've never met but thanks to years on this board I think I know your rough demographic so I'm going to take a punt and assume that the times you've been to the pub have been similar to mine, i.e not down St Mary's St at night on a weekend, where I think it's a very different story.
It's incredibly unfair that local pubs are being punished when they're doing things properly though, a lot won't survive this latest round of rules
There are grants available, whether or not they're enough to cover staff and other costs isn't something i know. The other issue is bosses who are using this pandemic as an excuse to bail out, reduce staff (many of whom are on zero hour contracts and minimum wage) Because they're not making enough for the shareholders -see Toby carvery-Harvester-Like they have no responsibility towards their staff, and that twat who runs Wetherspoons, ****ing about with workers conditions etc, while taking taxpayers cash. I do feel for the independents, sole traders etc. I just hope that these grants can keep them afloat and that when this shit is over that there is a boom in hospitality so that they can claw back whatever is lost.
People will do what they want, unfortunately that’s the culture we have now. By doing so it means we could have another 2-3 years of these lockdowns until enough people can be convinced to have a vaccine that will limit its spread sufficiently to allow the NHS to deal with the virus each winter and the backlog of other delayed conditions. Unfortunately the demise of the Great British pub will be a small price to pay for us to eventually come out of this.
Drakeford himself has stated that the biggest problem by a distance in Wales is household transmission. The evidence that transmission is occurring at any significant rate in pubs and restaurants is thin to put it mildly - the paper the WAG used to justify their recent firebreak lockdown confirmed as much.
You'll remember a couple of weeks ago that I was upset when the noble First Minister and his merry men deemed that the Welsh public couldn't be trusted to meet one another on a socially-distanced basis in each other's gardens. This meant I couldn't visit my terminally ill sister-in-law and, more importantly, most of her closest friends couldn't visit her either. It was, however, fine for people to meet up with others from up to four households in pubs and restaurants. The theory apparently was that the pubs and restaurants are such regulated environments at present that the risk of transmission in such settings was very slim. Nevertheless, here we are a couple of weeks further down the line and those places are shut again anyway.
As you know, I went to my local for the first time in months on a midweek evening a couple of weeks ago. It was like a military operation - table booked in advance, full details of me and my mate logged, table service only, plastic screens up between tables, masks required when using the toilets, etc. To be honest, it wasn't much fun, but it was good to see my friend again and I felt confident that the chance of picking up the virus from anyone except him was absolute zero. I was supposed to be seeing Kate for the first time since February on Saturday, but Drakeford's put a stop to that. I know I'm biased as I cannot stand the man, but this latest measure seems totally over the top to me.
More preudoi-political bullshit.
The virus and Brexit are 2 completely separate issues. You'll be telling us next the virus was manufactured and spread all over the world just so we, the British, took our attention off Brexit.
Oh hang on - isn't that what you already just implied?
Less food and drink in restaurants and pubs to free up transport for post brexit. :hehe:
Restrictions to prevent mass food riots? :hehe:
I suppose the Labour party would have stayed in Europe, so not needed the transport freed up, and could have let everyone do as the pleased in the pandemic because there would be no danger of food riots.
Yeah, right!!!!
you are joking. Please tell me this is a woosh!
Indeed, and if that's the case then shut the city and town centres from 6:00pm. But don't shut the entire country's pubs and restaurants down just because you can.
It's a pity the city council aren't in charge of this. Those twats would close down the city centre in a heartbeat given a chance.
:thumbup:
It's not just about grants for owners, it is also about people who work all week and only get the weekend to pop to the pub and relax and have a few beers in a covid-controlled atmosphere. Instead people will give more profits to supermarkets and lash it up in each others houses and nothing will change.
Hasn't anyone noticed that once again the closure isn't for 2 weeks but 17 days. That is deliberately measured to take in 3 weekends when most restaurants and pubs do their business. It doesn't affect any other businesses in the same way so the 3 weekend scam can only be targeting one part of the economy.
Who even knows what the best thing to do any more is. The few times I was out before the lockdown everyone seemed to behaving themselves ok but who knows what goes on in other areas.
I think the main problem is the 4 governments in the U.K. are so focused on self governance that they couldn’t coordinate if their lives depended on it.
Wales only having the 2 week lock down was sensible when there was no extension to the furlough but then England decided they needed to lockdown so it was extended.
Just goes to show people who go into politics are ****ing useless at needing to do any actual problem solving.
its also about young folk working and say in Uni, , earning some keep behind a bar , to help their families that cannot afford to support them , the pub is also an emotional support for some lonely single folk , there are moral issues at stake and perhaps ones of liberty and choice
No it is not, and it is totally unnecessary. Destroy something that has endured for hundreds of years, something which as epitomised British culture for generations just because they cannot think of anything better to do.
I've been castigated for saying this before but it seems to be being driven by people who really do want pubs closed permanently, just like you say
Could well be over the top, i'm not disputing that, i've not read up on anything to be honest in order to sway my opinion. I would have thought (like delm alluded to) that the issue is much greater in the city centre bars, pubs, especially in the suburbs are essentially restaurants now, i'm sure that they can be regulated.
I do have some sympathy with Drakeford though, even with that prick Boris, mistakes are going to be made, the info isn't always going to add up etc. Drakeford is certainly more cautious. I'd like to see what he's basing his decision making on before i have a concrete opinion. Most people have had a **** full, but i don't think that anecdotal evidence based on preference helps anyone. We have to trust the scientists and medical bods.