CURFEW IMPOSED AT VENUES, THEATERS 

The U.K. Government is introducing further COVID-19-related restrictions, including a 10pm curfew for venues. The Music Venue Trust is asking the Government for a little more help.

Beginning today, businesses in the U.K. selling food or drink, including venues, cafes, bars, pubs and restaurants, are mandated to close at 10pm. If a performance starts before 10pm, cinemas, theaters and concert halls can remain, but alcohol cannot be served after the curfew.

The Music Venue Trust notes that 10pm to 1am are most venues’ top economically rewarding hours and will have “very significant impacts upon people’s businesses, jobs and livelihoods.”

“If it is required to be done for the protection of public health, then it should, we regrettably agree, be done. In the event of a 10pm curfew being required on the basis of scientific evidence, HM Government must recognize that this is a decision that must be made for the benefit of the country, and that therefore the country has a responsibility to the businesses and people impacted by that decision.”

In an address to the nation, Prime Minister Boris Johnson didn’t rule out a second national lockdown and said the measures could be in place for six months. The new rules were put in place after the U.K.’s coronavirus alert level was upgraded to four from three, meaning the transmission of the virus is “high or rising exponentially.”