Bar owners up in arms over covid19 measures

Tobago's bar owners are up in arms over the Government's decision to prevent patrons from socialising at their establishments. At a news conference on Saturday, the Prime Minister announced a return of some covid19 restrictions to prevent the spread of the virus.

Dr Rowley said bars, restaurants and other food establishments are to operate on a takeaway-only basis for 28 days to reduce the likelihood of infections through socialising. He said patrons also would not be allowed to drink at bars and similar establishments.

Dexter Woods, manager of the Amsterdam Bar, Patience Hill, said Rowley's announcement caught bar owners off guard. "We are under real pressure." Woods told Newsday he spoke on Monday with a fellow bar owner in Trinidad who said his sales had declined considerably.

"Between 9 am and 2 pm, with this takeaway system, he told me that he sold two beers. So the system is terrible." Woods said the new measure would also affect their stock. "This is a business. You have to stock all the time. But during the last lockdown, we ended up with a set of spoilage because the beers expired. Now we are going to end up the same way."

Woods said the Government has not catered for bar owners to mitigate the fallout from the anti-covid19 measures.

"There is nothing in place for bar owners under that line as what the guesthouse owners got."

To compound matters, he said, bar owners still have to pay their licence fees even though they may not be making money.

"With all the closure we have, we still have to pay our yearly fee. This is the second time we are closing for the year and we still have to pay. It was never waived by the Government." Woods said bar owners are expected to discuss their plight at a meeting later this week.