Pubs given green light for indoor service

The prime minister has confirmed that pubs and bars in England will be able to serve guests indoors from Monday 17 May, after the UK reduced its Covid-19 alert level from four to three.  

Under the next stage of the reopening roadmap, pub goers will be able to eat and drink in venues in groups of up to six people or two households. Up to 30 people will be allowed to meet outdoors.

Pubs with rooms will also be able to accommodate overnight stays, as Boris Johnson confirmed that hotels, hostels and B&Bs will be able to reopen from next Monday.

Performances and live events within the on-trade can also restart, but with limited audience numbers. However, nightclubs will still have to wait until 21 June before they can reopen for business.

“It’s great that from next Monday we’ll be able to welcome our customers back inside our pubs and get more of our team members back to work," says Nick Mackenzie, chief executive of Greene King. "Since we reopened outdoors in some of our pubs in April, frequent spells of cold and wet weather have made it particularly trying for our teams who are serving our customers outside. Even though the vast majority of our of our pubs will be open next week, we’ll still be operating at significantly reduced capacity, so it’s essential all restrictions disappear as promised on 21 June so we can return to the full pub experience that people have missed so much.”

The rest of the UK

Subject to government approval on 13 May, the hospitality industry in Wales will also begin indoor service from 17 May.

In Scotland, from 17 May up to six adults from three households can meet inside a pub or bar, which are now permitted to serve alcohol. These venues will be allowed to stay open until 10.30pm.

For Northern Ireland, the reopening of indoor hospitality across pubs, bars and restaurants could resume from 24 May.

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