This is anothe example of misleading reporting.
The headline is
9 in 10 pubs not following COVID-19 rules
No doubt all the lockdown enthusiasts will call for an immediate and indefinite closure of all pubs.
However, if you read the articles, it says 90% of pubs in
one suburb of Greater Manchester,which the survey conveniently forgets to name. It doesn't say how many pubs were involved in the survey, nor does it say to what extent each individual pub broke the rules.
The smaller the number of pubs in the survey, the less reliance can be placed on the results, and it is quite wrong to extrapolate this and say that 90% of pubs throughout the UK are not following the rules.
It would be manifestly unfair to punish the majority of pubs, restaurants and cafes which, in my experience, are following the rules, because of the actions of a small minority, especially as the pubs are not responsible for the abject failure of the Track and Trace system. (Remember the app that was trialled on the Isle of Wight? - that seems to have died a death)
It is worth pointing out that pubs collecting details for Track and Trace is not mandatory in England, nor is table service. It is yet another case of local authorities interpreting "Guidance" and "advice" as the law.
However, if the government is willing to pay me, I am quite happy to go several pubs in my area of the country and test whether each one is following the rules.
www.telegraph.co.uk