By George Day • Published: 20 Mar 2020 • 14:49
Wetherspoon boss, Tim Martin, has said in an interview today that closing pubs due to coronavirus is ‘over the top.’
His comments came after the business saw a further dip in sales following Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s instruction for drinkers to stay at home to help curb the spread of Covid-19.
The chain’s founder argued that supermarkets were far more crowded and claimed there had “hardly been any transmission” of infection in pubs.
Wetherspoon pubs will remain open, with additional precautions, “until the government tells them otherwise.”
Mr Martin said: “Our aim is for pubs open for the duration. This could go on for a long time.
“I think that once you shut them down it’s very difficult.
“Supermarkets are very, very crowded. Pubs are much less crowded. There’s hardly been any transmission of the virus within pubs and I think it’s over the top to shut them.
“That’s a commercial view but also a common sense view.”
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