Pressure is mounting on the Government to provide new support for businesses affected by the latest round of Covid advice today (December 16).
Yesterday, Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty urged people to cut down on social contact int he run up to Christmas - the most lucrative part of the year for many businesses.
But there are now fears firms - and the hospitality industry in particular - face a similar limbo to the period just before the first lockdown in 2020.
READ MORE: Your Omicron questions answered by Greater Manchester's health leaders
Then, the public was encouraged to stay away but businesses were not compensated.
Andy Burnham is among those to make the call after Number 10's latest press conference, in which no new rules were announced but people were encouraged to ‘prioritise’ social contact.
“You can’t tell people to ‘think carefully’ before going to pubs and restaurants and then fail to provide any support for the workers/businesses affected,” he tweeted this morning.
“The government needs to bring forward a support package TODAY for hospitality, events, music and other affected sectors.
“To be clear - if support is provided to businesses, it should be on the clear condition that some is passed on to staff facing reduced income over the holiday period or being laid off (i.e. a furlough).”
Labour is also due to ask an urgent question in the Commons on the same issue this morning. With the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, away in California on work, it is likely to be answered by a junior Treasury minister.
At yesterday’s meeting of Manchester council’s executive, councillors also expressed concern.
Coun Pat Karney noted ‘thousands’ work in hospitality in the city.
"We are monitoring the situation very, very carefully,” he said, “not just the city centre but across the city as a whole.”
He added: "We are on your side to try and do as best we can to try and keep you in work. We will be making the case to the Prime Minister for financial support to keep you in your jobs."
The M.E.N. reported earlier this week how businesses in Manchester city centre already feared another drop-off in trade due to omicron after new 'work from home' guidance was introduced.
The Federation of Small Businesses warned of ‘an avalanche of cancellations’ just as firms were trying to shore themselves up ahead of the quieter months in January and February.
"This is the second Christmas like this businesses have had - and last year was a disaster in Greater Manchester because we had more lockdowns than elsewhere,” said Robert Downes, regional spokesman for the FSB.
Since then, the government has not introduced an outright ban on households socialising, or any new rules for hospitality sector, other than the need for a negative test or vaccine in order to enter a large venue.
But it has ramped up its language around social mixing.
Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty suggested last night ‘don’t mix with people unless you have to’ and to ‘think carefully’ before going to an event, ‘because otherwise the risk of someone getting infected at something that doesn't really matter to them - and then not being able to do the things that matter to them - obviously goes up’.
