NI Economy Minister Diane Dodds has called for the 2m social distancing measures to be reduce in hotels and restaurants. The Minister suggested that it would be more realistic for the hospitality industry to operate under a one metre social dispatching margin instead.
The Minister made the comments during the daily media broadcast in the Long Gallery at Parliament Buildings, Stormont.
The hospitality industry has been devastated by the coronavirus lockdown. Ms Dodds said she wanted to safely reopen pubs and restaurants sooner rather than later. In her comments, Ms Dodds noted that other countries had adopted a one-metre social distancing guidelines – half that encouraged in Northern Ireland.
She said: “What we do in relation to these measures is guided by the science.
“It is clear that it becomes more viable for restaurants and hotels to operate under the one-metre guideline rather than the two-metre guideline.”
