Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Aldous Excerpts

Wednesday 10th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Actually, the people of this country are overwhelmingly following the guidance that the Government give. Tomorrow the House will be hearing a bit more about what has happened with NHS Test and Trace, and they will find that there is an extraordinary degree of natural compliance and understanding by the British people.

In spite of all the obscurantism and myth making that we have heard from the Opposition parties, I can tell the right hon. Gentleman that there are all sorts of views about the 2 metre rule. He is absolutely correct in what he says about the SAGE advice, but, clearly, as the incidence of the disease comes down—I think members of SAGE would confirm this—the statistical likelihood of being infected, no matter how close or far people are from somebody who may or may not have coronavirus, goes down.

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

Allowing zoos such as Africa Alive! near Lowestoft to reopen from 15 June is very good news, as it provides them with a realistic chance of survival. Would the Prime Minister give full consideration to allowing beer gardens also to reopen from 15 June, as the feedback that I am receiving is that many pubs are now facing the unpalatable and unwanted prospect of having to make staff redundant?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We want to reopen hospitality as quickly as we possibly can. The House will remember that, according to the road map, we were going to open outdoor hospitality no earlier than 4 July. That is still our plan, and we are sticking to it. Guidance is now being developed for such hospitality. What we do not want to see is a roiling, Bacchanalian mass of people who can spread the disease, so it is very important that people understand the continuing risks that this country faces.