No current plans for fresh ventilation standards
It comes after Politico reported that ministers were advised by scientists to scrap guidance encouraging perspex screens in venues.
Screens could actually increase the spread of coronavirus if they block airflow in a room, the leaked document concluded.
"Problems include them not being positioned correctly, with the possibility that they actually increase the risk of transmission by blocking airflow," Politico reported. "Therefore there is clear guidance to ministers that these perspex screens should be scrapped."
In response to the reports, the Prime Minister’s office said the claims come from a document it did not “recognise” and that did “not reflect the latest Government thinking.”
Operators took to social media to express their rage at the leaked document, having long bemoaned Covid safety measures for stifling the sociable pub experience.
Shambolic and clueless
Night time economy adviser for Greater Manchester, Sacha Lord, called the reports “shambolic”.
He said: “The industry has spent 10’s millions installing Perspex screens on the advice of the Government.
Shambolic.
— Sacha Lord (@Sacha_Lord) June 16, 2021
The industry has spent 10’s millions installing Perspex screens on the advice of the Government.
Ministers are now being briefed that they did more harm than good, as it prevented airflow.
I’ll file that with the 10pm curfew rule/clueless.
“Ministers are now being briefed that they did more harm than good, as it prevented airflow.
“I’ll file that with the 10pm curfew rule/clueless."
“I would never entertain the idea of Perspex screens in my place,” one operator wrote on Twitter. “I'd rather not open. You're going to the pub, not the Post Office.”
Another licensee said: “I’m delighted that it’s now becoming clear that most of the things we have been asked to do are absolutely pointless virtue signalling.
Safety investments
“Hopefully this will encourage more people to oppose the ridiculous ongoing imposition of restrictions on our industry.”
One operator said it was time to review all the measures introduced in hospitality “now we have a better understanding of risks of Covid.”
How useful are screens for preventing Covid-19 transmission?
Dr Julian Tang, clinical virologist at the University of Leicester told HuffPost that ventilation was “far greater and more effective” than perspex screens when reducing indoor transmission.
Dr Tang said: “Perspex screens only block large droplet ‘splatter’ expelled – e.g. during coughing or sneezing, which are too large to inhale anyway – but not the finer aerosols produced by talking and breathing that can float over or around these screens to be inhaled by those behind them – unless the screens extend from floor to ceiling and wall to wall.”
The pub sector spent at least £500m investing into Covid safety measures including screens since July 2020, according to figures from the British Beer and Pub Association.
The trade body's stance is that there is no need “for Government guidance or requirements to go beyond the existing workplace guidance.”
Guidance from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy encourages screens as a mitigation and says staff behind a physical barrier or screen are not required to wear a face covering.
It adds: “Enforcement action can be taken if barriers and screens are in place which do not adequately mitigate risks.”
A UK Government spokesperson told The MA: "We have paused at step 3 for up to four weeks due to the new Delta variant, and we will continue to assess the latest data on this variant over the coming weeks."
