Coronavirus: Israel's experience hints at why reopening UK pubs and cafes could be very tricky

Boris Johnson has said he is "optimistic" about pubs and restaurants reopening in the UK soon, but how easy will it be?

"I'm much more optimistic about that than I was." the prime minister told MPs on Wednesday.

"We may be able to do things faster than I had previously thought."

Countries are moving at different speeds, with their lockdown reductions dependent largely on the success they have had at containing the coronavirus.

Israel is one of a small number of nations which is now pushing ahead quickly with the reopening of society.

This week, the hospitality sector was allowed to reopen with businesses and customers being asked to stick to a set of rules.

But a couple of hours at one west Jerusalem cafe and the sense I get is that it is going to be extremely challenging.

So what are the rules?

The details will differ from country to country, but broadly they centre around extra hygiene and social distancing.

The Israeli government has issued guidelines for businesses which say:

The reality seems to be a little different though.

Customers tend to bunch up subconsciously, waitresses' masks slip down from their noses, and some people unintentionally walk past the waiter with the thermometer. It's all a bit chaotic, naturally.

And this is all at a cafe, which is, on the face of it, taking the regulations seriously.

The owner was armed with a tape measure and had been diligently spacing out the tables to meet the required 1.5m (almost 5ft) distance.

The Israeli government and local authorities are acutely aware of how important it is to get the economy moving again, but balancing that against the regulations is hard.

The authorities here have given restaurants permission to spread out along pavements and even into parking bays, allowing them to seat more people at a safe distance. The weather in Israel is on their side.

In Tel Aviv, 115 bars, restaurants and cafes have been given the go-ahead to expand into public space around their premises.

The city's mayor, Ron Huldai, said: "We will continue to fight for the 70,000 workers from the restaurants, bars, cafes, and clubs sector in Tel Aviv.

"These businesses are the beating heart of the urban economy and I have instructed the municipal executives to turn every stone to find ways to put them again on their feet."

After a couple of hours at the Jerusalem cafe, on just day two of their reopening, it looks to me like the drive to return to normal is overwhelming the necessity to adapt our behaviour.

Whether it is retail, hospitality or travel, as we try to return to normal, or at least an "adapted normal", the requirements seem to go against all our natural pre-corona instincts.

Nowhere is this clearer than in the social environment of a restaurant or pub.

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I guess it comes down to a risk assessment, accepting that infection rates will probably go up again, but must be controlled as much as possible by testing, tracing and social distancing.

We need to do everything we can to stick to the rules - a sort of global social contract to return our societies to normal.

It is a learning curve as we all adapt; but adapt we must, or the infection curve will steepen sharply once again.

Next week from Monday to Thursday, Dermot Murnaghan will be hosting After the Pandemic: Our New World -- a series of special live programmes about what our world will be like once the pandemic is over.

We'll be joined by some of the biggest names from the worlds of culture, politics, economics, science and technology. And you can take part too. If you'd like to be in our virtual audience - from your own home - and put questions to the experts, email afterthepandemic@sky.uk