Covid update: TLDR we won’t be dropping all our measures this week – because we’re still in a pandemic.

We’re very glad to see infection rates falling and to have seen lower rates of hospitalisation and death in this latest wave, thanks to so many people now being vaccinated, availability of tests and better treatments for severe ‘rona – yay science.

Whilst this is good news overall, the risk remains stronger for the most vulnerable in our society and we will carry on keeping safe in order to ensure that those with underlying medical conditions can use our space and access our events more safely.

We aim to gently phase in less social distancing and a more relaxed, informal way of mingling as we move into Spring, but we’re not doing so just yet.

For now, we are still offering table service, spaced out seating, limiting our capacity and asking everyone to wear a face covering when moving around the space. We’ve set up good ventilation and will generally have the doors open unless it is absolutely freezing, in which case we’ll open doors for at least 10 minutes per hour as recommended by the WHO. Our air extraction system is on constantly and we monitor CO2 levels to ensure good rates of airflow.

Add asking all our crew to take a lateral flow test when they work and to wear face coverings, enhanced self isolation requirements for our crew and enhanced hygiene practices, we hope that those needing social contact and a place to come and meet people will feel safe and cared for here.

Our live events will continue to stream online on a pay-what-you-can as an ongoing way of making them more accessible. We have no intention of stopping doing this, please do support this decision by coming to our online events and spreading the word about them!

Thanks everyone for your continued support and encouragement. Stay safe and well!