Nightclubs to ‘make up for lost time’ as New Year’s Eve given green light
Clubs and bars have welcomed the government’s decision not to introduce any fresh Covid curbs in England until the new year.
Nightclubs have been forced to shut in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland, in a bid to tackle skyrocketing cases of the Omicron Covid variant.
However, in England, ministers have said the scientific evidence does not back more Covid measures at the moment.
This was welcome news for the hospitality sector, which has experienced waves of cancellations in the past few weeks.
Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association said the announcement meant the sector “can now start to plan with some certainty over the next week, and make up for lost time promoting one of the key nights of the year in the coming days.”
Nightclubs missed out on New Year’s Eve celebrations last year, as venues were closed between March 2020 and July 2021 under coronavirus laws.
Kill said the challenges faced by businesses over the last month had highlighted the need for the government to work with bosses to “generate a long term strategy for managing Covid variants.”
“It is clear that the open, close strategy, which has had a huge impact on our industry, is not sustainable,” he added.
UKHospitality CEO, Kate Nicholls said businesses would be “raising a New Year’s toast to celebrate the Government’s pragmatic and proportionate approach.”
She added: “This will give a real lifeline for many who have struggled with the loss of trade in the run up to Christmas and the loss of New Year on top of that would have been devastating for many. This will be a welcome boost and keeping restrictions to a minimum and lifting the remaining restrictions as quickly as possible to help the beleaguered sector back onto the road to recovery.”
Health secretary Sajid Javid has recommended people celebrate outside on New Year’s Eve if possible and said the need for measures will be reviewed soon.
Peter Marks, chairman of nightclub operator REKOM UK told CityA.M. he was pleased with the news and said firms were working hard to ensure clubs were Covid safe environments.
He added: “Most of our guests and staff are under 30 and will have to prove they are vaccinated or will provide a proof of lateral flow test to enter. This is a proportionate response given that this group are the least likely to cause pressure on the NHS.
“Repeatedly we point out that there is no evidence anywhere in the world that nightclubs are any worse than other indoor areas either in hospitality or other settings. Any precautionary measures should be based on risk assessments by property, considering ventilation, capacity control and other protocols. A crowded, poorly ventilated pub, bar or indeed any other space will bring a much higher risk of Covid-19 when compared to a large, well-ventilated nightclub.”