So far since April 12 we have enjoyed some 12 pub visits in Chester and south Cheshire, plus for the first group outing of Beer Tours UK Shropshire's bouncing Stonehouse Brewery beer garden and the community run White Lion at Ash, near Whitchurch.
Distancing, mask wearing and track and trace all appear to be working well in those experiences; pub goers are patiently abiding by the rules, safely and stoically 'enjoy' their drinking and eating through the cool April evenings.
Publicans and their teams are heroically implementing the rules, with cheerfulness and good grace. It is hard work for them.
Here CAMRA welcomes the news that it looks like they won't have the further burden of policing Covid vaccination passports.
CAMRA SAYS DROPPING VACCINE PASSPORTS FOR PUBS ‘RIGHT CALL FOR CONSUMERS AND LICENSEES ALIKE’
Responding to the news that the Government has shelved plans to bring in ‘vaccine passports’ for pubs and hospitality businesses in England, Nik Antona, CAMRA Chairman said:
“This was the right call to make – a vaccine passport scheme would have been another nightmare set of rules for licensees to enforce and potentially exclusionary to some consumers.
“The social and wellbeing benefits of pub going should be available to everyone, and the Government still has not provided any evidence that hospitality businesses have been a major vector for virus transmissions – so we saw no reason why the sector should be singled out for more unfair treatment.
“Licensees will be breathing a sigh of relief today – especially as many are still getting to grips with new rules on registering all customers in groups for Test and Trace, and planning for indoor reopening in May.
“The Government must now stick to its reopening roadmap, and double down on efforts to encourage to people socialise safely in pubs and social clubs by introducing a new, lower, rate of duty for draught beer, and extending the business rates holiday.”
About CAMRA:
CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, is a not-for-profit consumer group with over 180,000 members that has been operating since 1971. Our vision is to have quality real ale and thriving pubs in every community.
