Scottish hospitality body in plea over lockdown with claims of less than 1% Covid infection rate among staff

A major hospitality body has urged politicians to reconsider lockdown measures after reporting only 32 confirmed positive Covid-19 cases among staff between July and Christmas last year.

The Scottish Hospitality Group (SHG) reported the findings after its members, employing over 6,000 people in Scotland’s hospitality industry, revealed an infection rate among staff of less than 1 per cent.

The group states only eight of an overall 32 cases were reported by SHG members while the Eat Out to Help Out scheme and similar efforts encouraging the public to revisit local hospitality businesses were underway between July and October.

SHG spokesperson Stephen Montgomery said: “This clearly shows that we’re all better off when responsible hospitality businesses can provide safer places to socialise than when getting tougher is driven to other areas, such as house visits.

“Our figures prove that Scotland’s pubs, restaurants and hotels are part of the solution rather than being responsible for the spread of the virus, or – to quote the First Minister – ‘a hot spot’.

“Instead of criticising from a position of ignorance, we’d urge politicians and Holyrood candidates to visit their local hospitality business as soon as restrictions allow and see for themselves how much our committed staff are doing to keep everyone safe.”

“After the worst December in living memory, we have already had a tough start to 2021. In December alone, our members lost £9.6 million of revenue – money that would normally keep business afloat until the spring.

"It’s vital that the Scottish hospitality sector is well supported until we can reopen safely and play our crucial role in rebuilding the Scottish economy.”

Andrew McRae, FSB’s Scotland policy chair, said: “We know that thousands of Scottish smaller firms, including those in hospitality and tourism, made substantial, costly changes to their operations to comply with Covid rules.

"While we accept the priority must be public health, you can understand the immense frustration of business owners who feel that they’ve risen to every challenge, but have still been forced to close their doors.

“When the economy re-opens, we need to see our elected members lead by example and support those independent and local firms in their neighbourhood. These firms are vital to our collective success going forward, and that’s why we’re urging the next Scottish Government to put them at the heart of their plans for recovery.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We would expect infection rates amongst staff in hospitality to be low given the need to follow the strict safer workplaces guidance that has been developed for the sector.

“However, we know Covid-19 thrives in enclosed environments, where ventilation may be poorer and where people come into closer proximity with one another for extended periods of time. There are risks in settings with these characteristics, including, but not limited to, hospitality, thus the current measures are unfortunately necessary until we see sustained falls in infection rates.

“No-one wants these restrictions in place a moment longer than absolutely necessary. We are totally committed to working with business especially in the most effected sectors of tourism and hospitality, as we have been doing throughout the pandemic and the tourism secretary continues to engage with the sector and individual businesses on a daily basis.”