Quote Originally Posted by surge View Post
Not going to pretend I know if it's true but internet tells me, Section 12 of the 1872 Licensing Act stipulates that ‘every person found drunk… on any licensed premises shall be liable to a penalty’, which currently stands at £200.

If the problem is that those drinking too much are i) less likely to social distance and less likely to engage in proper standards of hygiene and ii) less likely to know who they came into close contact with so unable to help contact-tracers assess and act on virus spreading, wouldn't it be more appropriate to push pubs and restaurants into enforcing laws that existed before this year?
Edit to make it readable....close the pubs not enforcing measures to protect from virus spreading and keep those making the effort open.

Also, German view of current situation as we move into colder seasons: https://www.mpg.de/15426163/stellung...id-19-epidemie

Every single contribution protects health, society and the economy. The COVID-19 epidemic has also led to deaths in Germany and will cause further deaths. Some patients considered to be recovering still suffer from lasting health damage. At the same time, many economic livelihoods have been threatened or destroyed as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic; many people have suffered from insecurities and restrictions. Rising case numbers, with or without lockdown, would once again entail significant health, social, psychological, and economic costs. This can be prevented. If we manage to keep the number of new cases low, the infection chains can be broken or at least contained.