"Everyone was drunk": in England, pubs reopen under the threat of Covid-19

Even if waking up this Sunday was a bit difficult - he even describes it as "terrible" - Alistair, 28 and his headache do not regret having celebrated the reopening of pubs in Birmingham, in the center of England, Saturday evening. "It was really the same atmosphere as before the confinement, except that in some pubs, we had to register upstream," said the young man who works in the building. He would almost philosophize about this reopening, when the bars had never closed since the plague of 1665: "We are not really lucky with the weather here, so there is a proverb which says: It never rains in commercials. "

Alistair and his friends, gathered to celebrate the opening of pubs in Birmingham / DR  

In Birmingham as elsewhere in England, since Saturday pubs, cinemas, museums and hairdressers have been allowed to receive the public again. A decision lagging almost a month with France, which experienced its first reopening of bars and restaurants on June 2. The stakes are high for the United Kingdom, heavily affected by the pandemic, which deplores no less than 44,000 deaths: avoid an outbreak of cases, while the city of Leicester has already had to be reconfigured and that almost 6, 5 million customers are expected in pubs during the weekend. It is "absolutely vital that everyone respects the rules regarding social distancing," said Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, in a tweet.

"Everyone was drunk and no one respected social distance ..."

Some photos of crowded streets and pubs crowded with customers in several English cities, as well as Alistair's story, however, confirm his fears. Saturday evening, after a few drinks, the required barrier measures against the coronavirus evaporated in Birmingham: "Everyone was drunk and no one respected social distance ...", reports the young man. If, among the English interviewed, some evoke having spent a Saturday when the barrier measures were well honored, other accounts relate sometimes worrying situations while the epidemic is not completely circumscribed.

At the PA news agency, the manager of a boutique in the Soho district, in London, describes a situation "out of control", early in the afternoon on Saturday.

“Nothing will ever be the same again” https://t.co/HYBaxnKI0z

"Around 8 pm to 9 pm, it was a real street party, with people dancing and drinking," she said, adding that the wearing of the mask, which is not compulsory, was only rarely present. and little respected social distancing.

Current status in Soho. https://t.co/tpXpQfvWit pic.twitter.com/EYMj3eQqSW

On Twitter, Devon and Cornwall police even say they have received a thousand reports, the majority of which "relate to alcohol consumption". Some pubs had to close early in the face of the growing crowd. On Facebook, the manager of the Red Lion in Rotherham is saddened to have been forced to call the police after having found himself "literally inundated with dozens and dozens" of customers.

"It was really good to be back at the pub"

John Apter, president of the police federation, also shared his patrol party in Southampton on Twitter. "It was a predictable night, which confirmed what we knew: alcohol and social distancing do not mix," writes the policeman who describes a "busy" evening, during which he had to take care "naked men, happy drunkards, angry drunkards, fights and even more angry drunkards". John Apter nuances, however: "Yes, there were crowded places, alcohol and social distancing not respected, but it was not the carnage predicted. "

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Katy's evening had nothing to do with the nocturnal odyssey narrated by the policeman. “I celebrated my birthday in a pub. It was very controlled, with specific sanitary measures: they took the names at the entrance, the number of tables was limited, one person at a time to go to the toilet… ”, describes this Englishwoman to the Parisian spent his Saturday in the lively Primrose Hille district of central London.

Yesterday I went to a pub and it was HEAVEN. sorry to disappoint the Karens, but it was also extremely well managed, controlled and in line with government guidelines. Now today, a roast! #openthepubs #ukhospitality pic.twitter.com/ZYQLtahGAM

“The pub team tried to make the atmosphere as relaxed as possible. We felt them nervous, worried that everything was going well and they did a great job, applying the rules without making us feel that it was too strict. We were grouped by tables, and even if we were in our bubble, we could socialize and appreciate this return to the pub, "adds the young woman, who welcomes this deconfinement. “It was really good to be back at the pub, they are central to British culture and our social lives. It was a real lack to no longer have them. "

"Going to drink a pint is an inalienable right for an Englishman"

Same treat to be able to sit down again over a glass of beer at Ed Dorrel's. "111 days since my last pint." Let's go… ”, tweeted this 42-year-old Londoner on Saturday evening. Even if the atmosphere was quite different when I woke up. "At 6.30 am, I felt like I was 82 years old," laughs this Sunday this father who describes himself as a "seasoned pub lover", ready to return this Sunday evening, once the sleeping children.

111 days since my last pint. Let's do this ... pic.twitter.com/phcFV3zuat

Reinvesting the bars, these "fantastic places to live, which bring people together", was essential for Ed. "As Boris Johnson said during confinement, going to drink a pint is an inalienable right for an Englishman", taunts -he. Before setting foot in his favorite bar, the forty-something said, however, a little worried, not to find the place he had left three months ago.

“I was afraid that, given the new restrictions, the atmosphere in the bar would be different, less warm, more sanitized. But she was not that different. A little quieter than a usual Saturday evening, the opposite of what some feared. Everything went well and people were happy to be back, ”says the Londoner, himself“ very happy to have returned to the pub to be able to talk nonsense between friends ”.

Like Katy, he prides himself on respecting the health regulations on site. "Many commentators were concerned that after a few drinks things would become unmanageable and social distances would evaporate, but that did not happen in the pub I was in," he said. . Even late in the evening, the customers were very respectful of the rules. Katy, Ed, Alistair and their friends have, in any case, largely contributed to filling the boxes with their favorite food. The resumption of beer consumption in pubs could, according to the CEBR think tank, generate in a weekend no less than 233 million euros in profits. An expensive hangover.