FOR YOUR INFORMATION
We would like to share the following items, which describe the impact that the coronavirus pandemic is having on the industry.
Check out our page on the FIVS website that offers news of how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting our industry around the world. We are updating this webpage as new information becomes available.
Easing Up
Australia – South Australia will reportedly ease occupancy restrictions for bars, football games, weddings, and funerals. Bars will now be able to serve food and alcohol beverages as a result of restrictions easing, but no food may be produced or prepared at bars.
Cambodia – Cambodia’s Tourism Minister has reportedly announced the reopening of approximately 30 percent of the country’s tourism establishments, including hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, and beer gardens. According to the Ministry of Tourism, tourism was down 64 percent during January – June 2020 compared with the same period last year.
Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) – Eswatini’s Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Trade reportedly told journalists that the government was not yet ready to end its two-month ban on alcohol beverage sales, which began on 1 July 2020. The Minister said, however, that the government is consulting health professionals and others to determine whether the rate of new COVID-19 cases has slowed sufficiently to end the ban.
India – Following the Indian government’s announcement that state governments may lift their bans on serving alcohol beverages in bars and restaurants, the Bengal government is reportedly allowing restaurants and bars in West Bengal to resume serving alcohol. Restaurants with liquor service areas have been asked to operate at 50 percent occupancy, and bars will be required to ensure strict adherence to distancing norms, wearing masks, and frequent sanitisation.
Ireland – The Prime Minister of the Republic of Ireland reportedly met with a group of pub owners, calling for the reopening of bars that do not serve food. (Only pubs that serve food were allowed to reopen on 29 June 2020.) The Prime Minister said that conditions for reopening pubs, as well as sports venues and the travel industry, would be published in mid-September, but he could not offer a firm opening date. Drinks Industry Ireland reported growing fear that their businesses will remain closed until 2021.
Tightening Up
Estonia – The nighttime sale of alcohol beverages in bars and restaurants has been prohibited in Harju County in northern Estonia, as well as several counties in southeastern Estonia, to curb the coronavirus.
United States – The Governor of North Carolina has reportedly signed an executive order extending an earlier order through 2 October 2020, which requires restaurants to end their sale of alcohol beverages at 11:00 p.m.