The world is gripped with the coronavirus outbreak that has made over 2 million people its victim so far. Many countries are under lockdown in a bid to contain the spread. Businesses are shut as only essential services remain open. As per the latest updates, there are chances that pubs and restaurants in the United Kingdom do not reopen until Christmas this year. Yes, speaking on BBC’s Andrew Marr show on April 19, the Minister for the Cabinet, Michael Gove said the government is seeking to make a “balanced judgement” on relaxing restrictions. Nothing is certain yet, but the Cabinet Ministry reported that the hospitality industry would be subject to social distancing measures for a more extended period, as compared to others so to prevent the second wave of the deadly virus hitting Britons later this year. UK Extends Lockdown For Three More Weeks as Coronavirus Cases Continue to Rise Exponentially. 

In the interview, Mr Gove was asked if boozers would be open before winter. He responded as quoted in media outlets, “We want to make sure that we make a balanced judgement about which restrictions can be relaxed at what time.” He added, “The other inference that I draw from your question, which is that areas of hospitality will be among the last to exit the lockdown — yes, that is true they will be among the last.”

According to reports in The Sun, a brewer in London, Frank Maguire fears that pubs are unlikely to open before Christmas. “Things are looking pretty dire. At this rate it seems unlikely that pubs will be open again before Christmas. Christmas is about as big as business gets for the pub industry. It will be a huge loss. January and February are dead months — without Christmas to carry us through, we will struggle. It will be a very glum start to 2021. We’ve got the added blow of missing out on the Euros this year. Every England game is worth millions to the industry,” he was quoted as saying in the report. UK Man Shares 'Unorthodox' Symptoms of Coronavirus He Documented Before Being Rushed to the Hospital in Critical Condition. 

The UK is under strict lockdown. Only essential services are open. People are allowed to go out for a selected number of reasons, like buying groceries and other essentials, caring for the vulnerable, exercising locally once a day and travelling to and from work, for those who cannot work from home. The United Kingdom has about 1,20,067 cases of coronavirus with more than 16,000 deaths. Pubs have been closed since March 20 this year as part of Britain’s coronavirus response.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 20, 2020 08:26 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).