Coronavirus: Restaurateur urges government to consider ‘no alcohol’ trading
Senior Reporter in The Herald
Seumas MacInnes, owner of Cafe Gandolfi says restaurants have fared worst in the pandemic.
THE owner of one of Glasgow’s longest-running restaurants has urged the Government to consider allowing businesses to re-open if they do not serve alcohol as it becomes increasingly likely that a current ban affecting the Central Belt will be extended.
Seumas MacInnes, who runs Cafe Gandolfi in Albion Street, also called for a re-think of city centre policy, saying that while restaurants in the west and south of the city had been busy post-lockdown, central businesses have not seen the same recovery and suggested a temporary lifting of parking charges could help.
Meanwhile, however, bars and restaurants in Scotland’s central belt are to remain closed for another week after short-term Covid-19 restrictions were extended.
The move comes as a further 28 deaths linked to the virus were recorded.
Scotland is due to move to a five-tier system of virus alert levels from 2 November.
The temporary restrictions targeting hospitality venues in the central belt in particular will continue until then to enable a “smooth transition”.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it would “not be safe” to ease any restrictions in the short term, but said “we believe they may already be making a difference” to the spread of the virus.
Business and hospitality leaders said they were “extremely disappointed” with the extension, which they described as a “hammer blow to pubs and breweries across the country”.
Bars and restaurants in Scotland’s central belt – an area containing about 3.4m people – were closed on 9 October as part of what Ms Sturgeon called a “short, sharp action to arrest a worrying increase in infection”.
Hospitality venues in other parts of the country can only serve alcohol outdoors.
Five-tier system
These measures were originally meant to expire on 26 October, but Ms Sturgeon said they would now continue until a new “strategic framework” comes into force.
This multi-tier system will involve different levels of restrictions that can be applied nationally or regionally depending on the level of infection. It is due to be published on Friday, and debated by MSPs after Holyrood’s half term recess.
Ms Sturgeon said she had agreed with her cabinet on Wednesday that the short-term restrictions should remain in place in the interim to ensure a “smooth transition to the new system”.
Ms Sturgeon said the rise in infections was “clearly concerning” but insisted restrictions were having an effectBusiness groups hit out at the move, with Liz Cameron of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce saying the hospitality sector in particular would be “absolutely devastated that restrictions now look to be in place indefinitely”.
Joe Crawford from the Campaign for Real Ale group said the move was a “hammer blow” to pubs and breweries “who feel like they’re being offered up as a sacrificial lamb without sufficient evidence”.
And Andrew McRae from the Federation of Small Businesses said the current measures had a “disproportionate” impact on smaller firms, adding: “This new strategy must have meaningful input from the business community.”
Ms Sturgeon said the move was “first and foremost a public health decision”, having earlier set out rising numbers of cases, people being treated in hospitals, and deaths.