Coronavirus: One in 10 Britons say they will never go back to the pub after pandemic

Only 4 per cent of people planning to go for a drink when pubs reopen in England on Saturday, survey finds

Ten per cent of Britons have vowed never to return to the pub once the coronavirus restrictions end, according to a new poll.

Bars, restaurants and other leisure venues in England can reopen from 6am on “Super Saturday” after spending over three months in lockdown.

Police forces are bracing for a “perfect storm” of drunkenness and disorder over the weekend as drinkers grapple with social distancing rules and queues.

But concerns that pubs could be the ideal hotspots for new outbreaks appear to have dampened the enthusiasm of some adults surveyed by YouGov over the last two days.

Of the 1,618 people questioned, only 4 per cent of those who visited pubs before lockdown plan on going for a drink on Saturday.

Four per cent also said they will go at some point in the first week – but not on the first day.

Nearly one in five (19 per cent) plan to go later in July, and over half (53 per cent) said they would go later in the year.

But one in ten answered: “I won’t go back to a pub”.

(Yougov)

Younger drinker are keener than the veteran drinkers, with 11 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 planning to return to a bar this weekend compared to 4 per cent of those aged between 25 and 64.

The survey found the older generation prefer to wait until later this year, with 55 per cent of those aged 50 to 64 and 57 per cent of those aged over 65 choosing this option.

Men are also more likely to be planning imminent visits to the pub than women. Six per cent of men who went to the pub before the lockdown began in March say they will return on Saturday, compared to 3 per cent of women.

Meanwhile 55 per cent of women say they will return later this year, compared to 49 per cent of men. Twelve per cent of women said they would not return to a pub, compared to eight per cent of men.

Customers returning to pubs from Saturday will also be asked to hand over their contact details to help coronavirus tracing staff track down any outbreaks.

While this measure is not compulsory, most British adults said they did not have a problem with it.

Thirty per cent of those surveyed said they were “very comfortable” with the request, with another 33 per cent indicating they were “fairly comfortable”. A total of 29 per cent responded that they were either very or fairly uncomfortable with handing over their details.