PUBLIC statements from Scottish pub giant Caledonian Heritable do not come along very often.

So when the company that owns renowned venue The Dome in Edinburgh does stick its head above the parapet, it is usually worth paying attention.

Such was the case just recently, when Caledonian Heritable, headed by the media-shy entrepreneur Kevin Doyle, added its weight to the growing clamour for the social distancing rule to be revised down from the current two metres to one.

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The company, which I last recall made a public statement during the business rates crisis around three years ago, could not have been clearer about the need for such a move for an industry that continues to face a hugely uncertain future because of coronavirus.

Speaking in the wake of devastating jobs news in the Scottish hospitality sector, which saw Crieff Hydro, Apex Hotels and Macdonald Hotels all begin consulting hundreds of staff over redundancies, Caledonian Heritable director Graeme Arnott said: “Whilst [tourism minister Fergus] Ewing has given the industry a date to work toward, it will become inconsequential if two-thirds of the industry remain closed due to the unsustainable restrictions currently in place which will no doubt result in a devastating amount of jobs lost in the sector.

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“Restaurants and pubs are a huge part of the Scottish economy and a huge employer as a result.

“This week alone, we have seen a tsunami of businesses announce mass redundancies, and we can expect this to continue if we cannot see a step change towards reducing this two-metre rule before 15 July.”

Caledonian Heritable’s intervention was endorsed by a veritable Who’s Who of the Scottish licensed trade, with Di Maggio’s owner DRG, Buzzworks, Montpeliers, Manorview, Signature Pubs, Lisini and Caledonia Inns also calling on the Scottish Government to adopt the World Health Organisation approach in favour of a one-metre distancing rule.

Indeed, when you consider such a shift is winning increasing support across the business world, including from Scottish Chambers of Commerce on the basis protective equipment is used, the pressure building on governments on both sides of the border to change the policy is almost irresistible.

As things stand, the policy remains under review by the Scottish and UK Governments, and it looks like it will be next month before any change is made.

“The advice I have right now is we should not move away from two metres right now,” said First Minister Nicola Sturgeon when asked by Liberal Democrat MSP Mike Rumbles to comment on the policy yesterday.

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While this will understandably be frustrating for many in business, not least because the level of trading capacity they are permitted could determine a company’s ability to survive, the cautious approach being taken by ministers is understandable.

Great strides have been taken, chiefly through measures such as social distancing, to halt the spread of coronavirus and reduce its infection rate, and it rightly remains the top priority for political leaders to protect people and reduce the death rate.

Covid-19 has already taken an enormous toll on our society, with more than 42,000 people who tested positive for coronavirus in the UK now having died.

While both the daily death and infection rates are falling in Scotland and across the UK as a whole, governments across all the nations of the UK will rightly be striving to ensure that progress continues to be made, and as such will not take any decision to reduce the social distancing measure lightly.

The difficulty of the decision facing ministers is underlined in an updated paper from the Environmental and Modelling Group (EMG) on the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (better known as Covid-19), presented to the UK Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) on June 4, which stated that “best current evidence suggests that 1m carries between 2 and 10 times the risk of 2m of separation.”

Competing with the need to protect health, of course, is the necessity of kick-starting the economy, and it continues to be very challenging to satisfy both requirements.

And that balance would appear to be even more difficult to strike for the hospitality industry, which will be at the back of the queue when it comes to reopening and seems destined to lose out more than any other sector from this awful situation. And it is not only the owners of hotels, pubs and restaurants who are at risk, but the many suppliers which depend on the industry too.

The extent of the danger facing the wider hospitality industry has been made clear by the wave of redundancies already announced, and the prospect of more to come, with the Scottish Beer & Pub Association warning this week that more than 20,000 jobs could be lost in Scotland if the two-metre social distancing is maintained.

A survey published by the organisation found nearly nine in 10 landlords said their businesses would not be financially viable under the two-metre rule, on the basis their premises would have to exclude most of their customers when they are permitted to reopen indoor areas on July 15.

“Keeping a two-metre rule in place simply does not make financial sense and the fall-out will see the loss of thousands of jobs affecting both the Scottish economy and local communities,” said SBPA chief executive Emma McClarkin.

“Implementing a controlled environment to protect both customers and staff and dropping social distancing measures to one metre we will see 82 per cent of licensed premises being able to open their doors to the public and provide a much-needed boost to the industry.”

What the hospitality industry cannot be accused of is failing to prepare for socially-distant trading.

It has been fascinating in recent weeks to observe the creativity shown by many operators in adapting to the trading restrictions they will face when they do reopen.

Among those to have come up with imaginative solutions are The Chester Hotel in Aberdeen, where two transparent Eden Project-style domes will be used to accommodate diners in safe bubbles, and the Rotunda in Glasgow, where plans are afoot to open what is claimed to be the city’s biggest beer garden.

These are just two among scores of examples which again demonstrate that this is an industry which will not go down without a fight.