Coronavirus: 'We will weather it' devastated pub bosses vow after closures

In an extraordinary announcement earlier this week publicans were asked to close their doors as soon as possible on Friday night and to not open again in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Takeaway services are still permitted under the new measures announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The Wetherspoon pub chain, which previously said it wanted to keep premises open, said it would comply with Mr Johnson’s announcement.

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As well as pubs being told to close, cafes, bars, restaurants, gyms and cinemas have all now been told to shut.

Oxford publicans have since reacted with 'devastation' but many have vowed to get through the closure and to weather the storm.

Speaking to the Oxford Mail, landlord at the Mason's Arms in Headington Quarry, Chris Meeson, said: "We are devastated, absolutely devastated.

"It was definitely expected, it was not a shock, we knew at some point there would be a full closure but we are absolutely gutted.

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"I have no doubt it was the right call to make, I think they had to do it.

"We have already seen a massive dip from [last] Monday and people have already started staying away.

"We are just going to shut and wait it out now, we are a completely wet pub, we don't do any food so there won't be any deliveries, we have just got to shut down and wait."

Asked how the closure will affect his business and his staff he said he had a handful of younger staff and he would be sitting down to work out the financial implications in the next few days.

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He went on to evoke a fighting spirit and said the trade would survive the pandemic and vowed to rebuild once the worst was over.

He said: "We are going to weather it, we are going to get through this.

"We are going to make sure we come out the other side and look forward to the day we can reopen and start rebuilding."

Also speaking to the Oxford Mail about the closure fellow pub manager, Nick West, of The Holly Bush on Osney Island, called the closure ‘disappointing.’

Mr West said: “The decision to close has now been taken out of our hands.

“We are a community pub so it’s disappointing but there is an ethical duty to keep everyone safe.

“I need to sit down with staff and talk this through - I’m not letting staff go and we will be ready to come back - Wells are a fantastic company to work for.

“We will still be open for takeaways.”

In its announcement on the closures on Friday the Government said that the measures will be subject to a review each month.

No official date has been set for any of the affected businesses to reopen.

In Friday's announcement the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, also revealed that government grants will cover 80 per cent of the salary of retained workers.