Names and addresses at pub doors to reduce two metre rule, says Nicola Sturgeon

The First Minister said at her daily briefing that a decision will be made on the two metre social distancing rule on July 2.

Visitors to pubs could be expected to give their names and addresses to help contact tracers if the two-metre social distancing rule is relaxed.

The two-metre social distancing rule is to stay in place in Scotland until at least July 2 despite the announcement of rule changes in England, Nicola Sturgeon said today.

Names and addresses being given at the doors of indoor hospitality venues such as pubs and restaurants was given as one potential measure that could be introduced to help allow hospitality venues to reopen.

The First Minister was speaking at her daily press briefing in St Andrew’s House while Boris Johnson announced that the two-metre rule will be cut to ‘one metre plus’ to allow hospitality businesses to reopen from July 4.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson set out plans to allow pubs, restaurants, museums and cinemas to begin reopening from July 4 in the latest easing of the coronavirus lockdown in England.

Ms Sturgeon said the rule would stay in place in Scotland until July 2 at the earliest to allow her scientific advisory group to report back on the potential to do something similar.

She added that measures including perspex screens, changing seating arrangements and an increase in the use of face coverings could be used as a way to mitigate the risk of the virus being transmitted if the social distancing rule is reduced.

The First Minister said: “It could be face coverings, it could be having more perspex screens in certain settings, it could be changing seating patterns in indoor circumstances and what it might mean is that it will be different in one setting to another setting.

“In hospitality it could involve taking names and addresses of people who go indoors in order that should there be an outbreak of the virus or if somebody tests positive there is an ability to trace the others that have been there at the same time.

“All of these kind of things are potential mitigations if you allow for flexibility around two metres in circumstances where for practical and economic reasons, it is difficult, always, to maintain it.

“These are things that have to be thought through quite carefully and we have to make sure we have the right guidance for a commercial operator to know what they need to do and that is the work that the advisory group is doing.”

The comments came after a survey from the Scottish Tourism Alliance found the vast majority of firms will struggle if the two-metre social distancing rule remains in place when they open.

The tourism industry in Scotland has been told to plan for an expected opening date of July 15, if the virus continues to be suppressed across the country.

The survey of 1,052 businesses including hotels, restaurants and cafes from June 16 to June 21, showed 85 per cent would l have to stop trading if the rule remains in place and no further financial help is offered.

The Scottish Beer and Pub Association ran a similar survey during the same time period, which found just 13 per cent of pubs believe they can reopen with two-metre social distancing measures.

Marc Crothall, chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, said: "The survey confirms that around 85 per cent of businesses within the hotel and restaurant sectors in Scotland will stop trading if the two-metre physical distancing rule remains in place for the next two months should no further financial support be forthcoming.

"The figures reflect the many conversations we have been having with businesses across all sectors in the tourism industry for months and underline just how crucial the current review of the two-metre physical distancing rule is within the context of the health and economic crises."

Almost a third of hotels surveyed said they will not reopen on July 15 directly because of the social distancing regulations, while 23 per cent of restaurants said they cannot afford to continue if restrictions are not reduced to one metre.

Restaurants said if they are required to trade at two metres without any additional support beyond the next two months, there will be almost 9,000 jobs at risk due to closures.

Mr Crothall said: "Our tourism industry has welcomed the publication of the sector guidance for reopening and fully supports all recommended measures to ensure the safety of employees, visitors and our communities.

"However, many businesses do not plan to open again with the two-metre rule in place as it's simply not economically viable for them to do so.

"Coupled with the expected slow recovery forecaste, we expect a steady stream of job losses across the whole of Scotland over the coming weeks."

He added: "Also, as we all know, visitors will choose where to stay based on the tourism product available in that area and are unlikely to travel to destinations that have a limited product in the form restaurants, visitor attractions and pubs.

"This will have a direct knock-on effect on the current limited demand for accommodation in our destinations and the impact on our local economies and supply chain is likely to be severe."

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