Coronavirus: 2 metre distance rule should be reviewed to save hospitality sector, senior Tories tell government

Pubs, restaurants and theatres could be hard hit by rules forcing people to stay 2m apart

Senior Conservatives have urged Boris Johnson to review social distancing rules requiring people to stay two metres apart amid fears over the hit to the hospitality sector.

Greg Clark, chair of the Commons Science and Technology Committee, called on the prime minister to consider reducing the two-metre limit to one and a half metres in light of new evidence from the government’s scientific advisers.

Mr Clark, a former cabinet minister, said documents recently published by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), indicate infection risk “falls sharply by 1.5m” and urged a review of the rules before non-essential shops begin to reopen in two weeks time.

It comes after chancellor Rishi Sunak said firms would have to start paying 10 per cent of furloughed workers wages from September, prompting concerns about lay-offs in the hospitality sector where many businesses will struggle to reopen under current rules.

Theatres and entertainment venues could also be hit hard by the two-metre rule, which would severely restrict the number of patrons allowed inside.

In a letter to the prime minister, Mr Clark said: “At the Liaison Committee hearing, you expressed your hope that the two-metre distance could be reduced, noting that Sage had updated its advice on other matters as the pandemic has developed and that you would ask Sage to consider again its advice in good time ahead of the planned return to business of shops on 15 June.

“I would therefore ask that you ensure that Sage urgently reviews the two-metre guidance and publishes its updated analysis.”

He added: “Were Sage’s updated analysis not to recommend reducing the advised distance, it would be important for it to clarify the rationale for two metres compared to 1.5 metres and why the guidance in the UK differs from so many international comparators.”

David Davis, another former cabinet minister, tweeted: “Greg Clark’s right, the government must look at easing the social distancing rules to help businesses, including shops, get back on their feet in the coming weeks. The WHO recommends only a 1m rule.”

Former Tory chancellor Norman Lamont also called for changes to the two-metre limit as he said restarting the hospitality sector was vital for the economy.

He told the Today programme: “I’m not for one minute saying the government should ignore medical and scientific advice but I think it is urgently important, if you want a single measure that would help the hospitality sector, it would be a reduction in the social distancing from two metres to one metre.

“As I’m sure you know the WHO, other countries, operate on a lesser scale and it’s estimated that on two metres, only 30 per cent of the hospitality sector could operate on a sustainable basis.

“Cut it to one metre and it might be 50 per cent – not necessarily profitable but could survive.”

But the calls come at odds with advice from England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific adviser, who suggested two metres was still necessary.

On Thursday, Sir Patrick said: “It’s not an absolute (that) beyond two metres is safe and slightly less is not safe, there’s a graduation across that, and so roughly at a metre it’s somewhere between 10 and 30 times more risky than at two metres.”

Prof Whitty said it was “really important” that people stayed two metres apart when meeting outside, adding they would not be counted as a contact, and therefore would not need to self-isolate if someone they met at a distance then developed coronavirus.

Mr Johnson agreed with his advisers, saying: “I must stress that to control the virus, everyone needs to stay alert, act responsibly, strictly observe social distancing rules, and stay two metres apart from those who you do not live with.”