Distrikt Bar Leeds announces earlier opening times as Government imposes 10pm curfew

From Thursday evening, all pubs, bars, restaurants and other venues in England will be required to close by 10pm.

Distrikt, an underground bar on Duncan Street, had just yesterday announced new opening times which will now have to be adjusted.

The venue will open earlier from Thursday with the "usual entertainment" to help the business stay afloat as it adjusts to the new curfew.

Manager Rosita Rogers made the announcement in a Facebook post and said: "We will be opening earlier - which means whatever you wanted to do at 10pm, you can do all day long, the usual entertainment will he provided

"Please make sure you keep supporting your independents as this isn't going to help at all, it's only going to cause serious damage."

The New Headingley Club, a sports bar on St Michael's Road, has also adapted its opening hours to the new restrictions.

The bar will open its doors from 2pm on weekdays and 12pm on Saturday and Sunday.

What are the new Covid-19 measures for pubs?​

-What’s the current situation?

Some of the UK’s most senior scientists made some dire warnings on Monday and the threat level was ramped up to level four, meaning transmission “is high or rising exponentially”.

Chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance warned we could be facing 50,000 new coronavirus cases a day by mid-October and a daily death toll of 200 by mid-November unless rapid action is taken.

-Closing times

From Thursday evening, all pubs, bars, restaurants and other venues in England will be required to close by 10pm.

The 10pm curfew, used elsewhere in local lockdowns, will be rolled out across the country to try to prevent alcohol-fuelled breaches of social distancing rules.

-No propping up the bar

Say goodbye to your favourite bar stool for a while – from Thursday evening all sectors of the hospitality industry will be restricted by law to table service only.

Maintaining social distancing when the bar queue is 3ft deep at last orders was always going to be a challenge.

– Keep washing those hands

As more measures are announced, the Government will still be hammering home its “hands, face, space” message as the most effective form of virus control.

The Prime Minister is due to urge the nation to stick to social distancing, regular hand washing and wearing face coverings in a bid to avoid a second national lockdown.

– What happens next?

The PM has two big meetings lined up on Tuesday to figure out how far the UK needs to go to try to get the spread of the virus under control before the colder weather hits.

The Cabinet is due to meet before Mr Johnson sets out the changes to social distancing measures in a statement to Parliament.

He will also chair a Cobra emergency committee including the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

-What does the Government say?

The Government knows that this extra blow to hospitality – especially after so much was spent on trying to support it through the “Eat Out to Help Out” scheme – will be a bitter pill to swallow.

A spokesman for Number 10 said: “No-one underestimates the challenges the new measures will pose to many individuals and businesses.

“We know this won’t be easy, but we must take further action to control the resurgence in cases of the virus and protect the NHS.”

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