Quiet music and ordering apps: Helston pubs in time of coronavirus

Music must be turned down low, ketchup sachets will replace

bottles and pints should be ordered on your smartphone in pubs

and restaurants in England, new guidance from the Government has said.

The guidelines published on Wednesday, ahead of lockdown measures easing on July 4, ask restaurant and pub bosses to ensure that customers and staff can be safe while enjoying a drink or a meal.

It includes obvious measures, such as ensuring social distancing,

cleaning bathrooms and reducing contact between people.

However, the atmosphere inside venues is also likely to change

considerably.

Not only will they welcome fewer people in order to ensure that

customers are sat further apart, but the stereo, or football match on

the TV will also be turned down.

The guidance reads:

"All venues should ensure that steps are taken to avoid people needing to unduly raise their voices to each other.

"This includes, but is not limited to, refraining from playing music or

broadcasts that may encourage shouting, including if played at a

volume that makes normal conversation difficult."

This is because as people start shouting or speaking up they are

more likely to launch the virus into the air and spread it to other

customers - so-called aerosol transmission.

Pubs and restaurants will also be asked to get their customers to

order food directly to their tables using a smartphone app, where

possible.

Another casualty of the coronavirus restrictions is likely to be the

bottle of vinegar or jar of mayonnaise, as the Government

encourages businesses to replace these with disposable

alternatives.

And gone are the days of picking up your own knives and forks at

the counter. Cutlery should only be brought to the table with the

food, according to the Government recommendations.

Meanwhile, queues are here to stay, as the guidance to ensure that

people wait their turn outside venues.

This will mean that managers have to cooperate with their

neighbours to ensure that queues waiting to get into two places do

not mingle.

This cooperation could stretch as far as staggering opening times to

ensure that people are not queuing and taking public transport to

the venue at the same time.