Pubs and restaurants outside the central belt will be able to serve alcohol indoors again from next week Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed. Licensees and restaurant owners will be able to serve alcohol with a meal until 8pm. In level 3 areas, likely to be much of the central belt and Dundee city, they will be able to reopen but cannot serve alcohol.
Level 3 is broadly similar to the current restrictions which have seen only cafes open in the central belt until 6pm to serve food and non-alcoholic drinks and close at 10pm inside and out.. But pubs and restaurants will also be able to open to serve both food and non-alcoholic drinks.
At level two, this will be extended to 8pm and alcohol will be permitted with main meals indoors and outdoors with a 9.30pm last entry and a 10.30pm close . She said that these restrictions were “broadly comparable to the restrictions in place outside the central belt, with normal operations outdoors and an early closing time.”
Hotel guests to be allowed to be served an alcoholic drink after closed hours.
She confirmed that the government is also considering whether to place North and South Lanarkshire into Level 4, given the “very high” rates of transmission and hospital admissions in those areas and and that “at level four, hospitality will be closed.”
Lanarkshire is the only area currently being considered for that status. She hopes to confirm all these decisions to Parliament on Thursday.
Some exceptions are being considered and she hopes that Highland, Moray, the Western Isles, Shetland and Orkney might go to Level 1 which will be similar but with a curfew closing time of 10.30pm rather than 10pm.
She told the Scottish parliament that at level zero, hospitality will operate “almost normally” subject to rules on physical distancing, limits on numbers and table service only.