Omicron's Surge Is Turning London Into A Ghost Town
NDTV
Britain's hospitality industry, already trying to recover from months of lockdown earlier in the year, is once again taking an economic hit as the pandemic once again steps up a gear.
The owner of Parlez, a pub and restaurant in south London, hoped that sales this Christmas would have bounced back fully from last winter's Covid-19 lockdown. Instead, every one of this week's group reservations canceled their bookings.
The U.K. is facing a record-breaking wave of infections, with Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, warning on Wednesday that "phenomenal" case numbers mean doctors and nurses will inevitably get sick. That leaves businesses like Parlez pessimistic about what comes next.
Restrictions already in place, including advice to work from home, mean those who might have been comfortable meeting up for a drink are now thinking twice, owner Matt Ward said. Business at another of Ward's pubs, the White Horse in south London's Brixton neighborhood, has taken a hit too.
"The pub hasn't gotten back to its pre-Covid turnover anyway but now the instability has come back again," Ward said. "We had a good Saturday but a bad Sunday, then a good Monday with the quiz but a very quiet Tuesday."
