Coronavirus: Disappointment for the hospitality industry as they must remain closed

There has been a lot of speculation about when the hospitality industry might reopen this week with some saying it could be as soon as June 22.

But Business Secretary Alok Sharma has said today: “We continue to follow the roadmap which sets out our ambition to reopen these sectors from July 4 at the earliest.”

He added: I completely understand why we are all so keen to get them back up and running and I absolutely share that enthusiasm.”

When asked about the two-meter rule he said: “When it is safe to do so we will see if we can move to a shorter distance. Ultimately, we keep all of these things under review.

“Ultimately it is about what is safe.”

Retail outlets will reopen from June 15 as long they comply with the Covid secure guidelines in the latest step in restarting our economy and ‘will enable highstreets up and down the country to spring back to life’.

On Monday, UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said: "Early reopening would undoubtedly be a positive step for the sector. Many tourism businesses such as hotels, holiday parks, visitor attractions and others with outdoor space are ready to open now, but need certainty so they can alert their teams, end furlough and restart their supply chains.

"Significant costs are about to be incurred, so we need clarity from ministers on a date that hospitality can reopen and, more importantly, the conditions under which businesses can welcome back customers.

"Government deserves credit for the furlough scheme that has protected so many jobs along with the other economic measures that have supported our businesses. But this will all be in vain if the two-metre rule is kept in place.

"Key to a viable restart is the reduction of social distancing measures to the international-recognised standard of one metre. If the science says it is safe to do so, this reduction would be a huge boost for the hospitality sector and prove critical to the survival of the vast majority of businesses and hundreds of thousands of jobs."