THERE have been calls for further support for the hospitality sector following pleas from top officials for people to cut back on socialising in the run-up to Christmas.

Last week, first minister Mark Drakeford urged people in Wales to think “in a conscious way” about meeting people or attending events following the spread of the Omicron variant.

And England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, pleaded for people to consider cutting back socialising around Christmas due to the threat from the Omicron variant, while Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged people to “think carefully” before attending celebrations.

READ MORE:

Prof Whitty told the public “don’t mix with people you don’t have to” at events that are not among the most important to them.

“I really think people should be prioritising those things – and only those things – that really matter to them,” he told a Downing Street press conference.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has already faced calls for fresh support packages, and Mr Drakeford admitted on Friday that any return to strict covid restrictions in Wales would need support for businesses from the UK Government.

“If the Omicron variant is to sweep across the UK, then the economic impact could only be absorbed with support from the Treasury,” he said.

Welsh ministers are expected to meet in the coming days for the now-weekly review of covid restrictions.

British Chambers of Commerce president Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith said Prof Whitty’s call “will almost certainly have an enormous impact for businesses”.

“Despite this still we heard no news of any new financial support measures coming from Government to help those businesses, and others badly affected by the current restrictions,” she said.

Theatre director Sir Nicholas Hytner said venues were in “crisis mode”, with shows closing as actors and other staff contracted coronavirus while bookings have “fallen off a cliff”.

The former artistic director of the National Theatre told BBC Newsnight: “We now surely don’t want to get into a situation where the Government’s investment last year is wasted because the sectors that it has supported collapse in the new year.

“We need to see short term finance, we need to see loans, we need to see VAT looked at again, we need to see business rates looked at again.”

Also appearing on Newsnight, chef Tom Kerridge called for a return of the drop of VAT to five per cent for the hospitality industry, adding: “Undoubtedly there will be many places that close their doors for Christmas and don’t reopen.”

The Treasury insisted some support packages remain in place and said it will “continue to respond proportionately to the changing path of the virus”, but set out no new measures.