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(Alliance News) - The negative view about safety of pubs during the Covid-19 pandemic has been "widely misunderstood", JD Wetherspoon PLC's Chair Tim Martin said on Monday.
Martin also said that trading was "very quiet" during this past weekend, denouncing newspaper claims that "Britons have promised to run riot" before new tighter government restrictions kick-in.
"In fact, trade was very quiet over the weekend, as the public weighed up the evidence about the alleged dangers of going out - Wetherspoon sales were 22.5% below the equivalent Saturday last year," Martin said.
The coronavirus "rule of six" came into force in England on Monday, meaning any social gatherings of more than six people will break the law.
People face fines of up to GBP3,200 if they do not abide by the new measure, which applies to both indoor and outdoor settings and follows a rapid increase in the number of daily positive cases.
More than 3,000 Covid-19 cases were recorded in the UK for the third day in a row on Sunday, the first time since May that cases were above 3,000 on three consecutive days.
Wetherspoon said it saw 32 million customer visits to its 861 open pubs in the 10 weeks since July 4. It reported 66 positive tests for Covid-19 among its 41,564 employees during the period.
"Most of the reported cases have been mild or asymptomatic and 28 of the 66 employees have already returned to work, after self-isolating in accordance with medical guidelines," Martin said.
Among its 861 open pubs, 811 have had zero positive tests.
"It is clearly not the case that pubs are 'dangerous places to be', Martin said, adding: "Although it is clearly possible for Covid-19 infections to take place in pubs and shops, the evidence indicates that the risk is low, provided social distancing and hygiene rules are followed, and common sense is used."
Wetherspoon said it has invested around GBP15 million in its social distancing and hygiene measures.
In August, the pub chain had said it expects to make a loss for the year to July 26, both before and after exceptional items relating to the Covid-19 pandemic and its associated lockdown.
The company's like-for-like, bar and food sales were down 17% for the 44 days ended August 16.
The FTSE 250 stock was down 3.1% at 898.00 pence each in London on Monday morning, having opened slightly higher.
By Tapan Panchal; tapanpanchal@alliancenews.com
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