Summary

• Increased instances of summer socialising witnessed at JD Wetherspoon in recent few weeks raised the concerns that non-adherence to social distancing guidelines could lead to a rise in Covid-19 infections.
• A recent study by researchers from the United States (US) showed that coronavirus could travel as far as five metres through the air.

A second wave of coronavirus cases in the UK could resurface itself and is a potential risk for the country. In the ongoing fight against the coronavirus infections, the golden rule of following the social distancing norms has been reemphasised as the economy started to open up. The government has also eased the lockdown restrictions to reopen the various industries along with specific guidelines. Along with the government, it is the responsibility of the businesses to operate with the guidelines in place and also encourage their customers to follow the advisory issued by the government.

In one such recent incident of not adhering to the social distancing advisory, the JD Wetherspoon has reportedly failed to prevent overcrowding in its pubs. With the ease in restrictions, there has been a significant rise in the summer socialising. With this came the fears that such relaxed socialising to beat the summer heat would result in a considerable surge in Covid-19 cases around the country. Given the continued restrictions on larger venues, some of the UK pubs are likely to be among the largest social gathering places in the country.

Several authorities have raised the concerns around the lack of social distancing norms being followed at pubs and restaurants. Citing the incident reported at JD Wetherspoon, Helen Hayes, the Labour MP for Dulwich and West Norwood, commented that it could be a matter of concern where no actions are taken to efficiently restrict overcrowding, besides not enforcing the measures to record customer contact details that are vital for tracking and tracing. Hayes emphasised on the fact that such incidents are a risk to people’s lives and asked local environmental health officers to investigate the case on an urgent basis.

Several health experts have also raised their fears that pubs could become a hotspot for the next surge in the viral infection. It is to be noted that so far, the industry disputed that an inconsistent number of either its staff or customers have reported any positive test results for Covid-19 infections.

In order to follow the mandatory regulations asked by the government, several pubs in the UK demand information from its visitors at the entrance itself. This is a step towards understanding the responsibility of the businesses to support the National Health Service (NHS) Test and Trace rules. The NHS Test and Trace is an outsourced service provided to the NHS in England, and was created in May 2020 to track and help prevent the spread of COVID-19 infections.

Recent study shows that the coronavirus could travel as far as five metres through the air

In the midst of JD Wetherspoon incident, a recent study by researchers from the United States (US) showing coronavirus could travel as far as five metres through the air has gained importance. It found out that the droplets of human saliva containing the virus are likely to remain in the air for prolonged time, significantly increasing the expectations of more people contracting it. The researchers isolated the infectious particles of the deadly coronavirus from a distance of 4.8 metres from patients being treated at the University of Florida Health Shands Hospital. This study raised an alarm to the earlier guidelines of maintaining at least two metre of social distancing as a protection against the risk of catching an infection.

Though the peers are yet to present their reviews on this study, it emphasised on the earlier notions that Covid-19 is an airborne disease. It also strengthened the public health advisories of social distancing, wearing of face coverings while in proximity to others, and hand washing for curbing the spread of Covid-19. Some experts say that the findings need to be carefully interpreted because it is still not clear if the sample of the virus isolated by the scientists could possibly infect someone. As the virus could be isolated in the air samples, the scientists believed that there is an increased risk of transmitting the virus in indoor environments.

Key details of the incident at JD Wetherspoon

According to reports, the JD Wetherspoon pubs were found to be full of visitors and the company’s staff could not manage the crowd’s demand for food and drinks. There have been several instances of the visitors at the pub not been asked to provide personal details such as mobile phone numbers that the government uses for track and trace system adopted during the coronavirus pandemic. The JD Wetherspoon, which is supposedly popular among the youngsters, allowed the visitors to purchase drinks directly from the bar, besides not stopping them to stand at a distance of one metre with the other customer. The low prices and huge discounts on alcoholic drinks and food prices compared with its competitors especially attract the young customers to JD Wetherspoon.

Also read: A look at Pubs and Gambling Stocks Post Lockdown Relaxation

Also read: Britain’s Hospitality Industry May Not Benefit From The VAT Rate Cut

JD Wetherspoon, however, highlighted that though people of all age groups visit its outlets and there could have been an increase in the youngsters visiting the pubs due to the good weather conditions in the UK in past few weeks. It stressed that the company is making arduous efforts to follow the regulations regarding social distancing norms. Observing that it would be not very easy to provide an entirely risk-free environment, it would continue to make necessary changes and improve its systems in response to Covid-19. JD Wetherspoon also pointed out that it would review its procedures at any individual pub where the norms may have been flouted. Disagreeing that its customers are at a risk of catching Covid-19 infection, the company asked for scientific proof that shows people are more at risk in pubs than other places.

Providing details of some of the measures taken by JD Wetherspoon, the company informed that the pub managers asked its customers to write down their personal details and post them in a ballot box inside the pub. Besides this step, it recently added barcodes on the tables at its outlets that could be scanned and facilitate the customers to participate in the track and trace system. Highlighting that this system employed by the company have resulted in approximately 616,192 customer registrations across all its outlets in the first five days of the week leading to 14 August 2020. This suggested one registration per £46.21 of sales, considering only one member of each group was required to make the registration.

Based in Watford, England, JD Wetherspoon is a pub company that operates around 900 outlets across the UK and Ireland. It was established in 1979 by Tim Martin and includes the chain of Lloyds No.1 bars apart from Wetherspoon hotels.

Previous warnings issued earlier by health authorities regarding a second wave of infections

Several experts have raised their concerns regarding the likelihood of a second wave of coronavirus infections in the absence or lack of social distancing measures. In end-June 2020, the medical professionals from some of the reputed institutions in the country said in a letter published in the British Medical Journal, that there are strong evidences indicating local flare-ups are likely to happen and a second wave of infections is a real risk. Such rise might lead to imposition of localised lockdowns in order to curb the spread of the respiratory illness. This letter was signed by a group of 15 prominent health professionals and trade unions comprising of the heads of the Royal college of surgeons, the Royal College of Physicians, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, and the British Medical Association.

It is to be noted that the government allowed the pubs, restaurants and hotels in the UK to reopen from 4 July 2020 along with specific guidelines on social distancing and sanitization norms in place. Though the government requested for necessary vigilance but also stated that it did not anticipate a second wave of infections to hit the country, overpowering the health services.

Conclusion

Amid the fears that the increased incidents of socialising at the pubs without following the mandatory guidelines of social distancing could be a potential threat and lead to a rise in Covid-19 infections in the country, highlights the attention that customers and businesses need to play an effective role in enforcing the guidelines issued by the government. Despite the losses that the businesses have suffered due to the lockdown, they need to implement strategies to ensure that the norms are followed. Given the ongoing fight against the coronavirus, these would help in building customer confidence and in sustaining demand in the long-term. As the restrictions have eased, responsible customer behavior by strictly following the various advisories also holds increased significance to curb the spread of the infections. Together such responsible steps could help revive the economy from the coronavirus-led economic crisis.