People flock out of pubs and restaurants on first weekend of 10pm curfew

People leave bars and restaturants at closing time in Soho, London, the day after pubs and restaurants were subject to a 10pm curfew
People leave bars and restaurants at closing time in Soho, London, on the first weekend of the strict 10pm curfew (Pictures: PA)

Large numbers of people were seen flocking out of pubs and restaurants at 10pm last night on the first weekend of the new curfew.

Police patrolled the streets and staff cleared away tables and chairs as the strict time limit was seen being enforced in cities including London, Birmingham and Leeds.

People were also seen queuing outside off-licences and shops to buy booze then go home and continue their weekend drinking after the pubs had closed.

The new measures were announced by Boris Johnson earlier this week as part of efforts to curb the spread of a second wave of coronavirus.

It comes as a number of towns across the UK went into local lockdown from midnight – including Leeds, Wigan, Stockport, Blackpool and Llanelli in Carmarthenshire.

Visit our live blog for the latest updates: Coronavirus news live

Wales’s two largest cities, Cardiff and Swansea, will follow suit as of midnight tonight.

Every borough of London has also been highlighted as an ‘area of concern’, with mayor Sadiq Khan urging the PM to ban household visits in the capital.

Meanwhile concerns have been raised particularly in the capital after streets were seen looking especially busy and Tubes packed as everyone left central London at the same time when bars closed.

People leave bars and restaturants at closing time in Soho, London, the day after pubs and restaurants were subject to a 10pm curfew to combat the rise in coronavirus cases in England. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday September 25, 2020. See PA story HEALTH Coronavirus. Photo credit should read: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire
This is the first weekend of the new 10pm curfew (Picture: PA)
People leave bars and restaturants at closing time in Soho, London, the day after pubs and restaurants were subject to a 10pm curfew to combat the rise in coronavirus cases in England. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday September 25, 2020. See PA story HEALTH Coronavirus. Photo credit should read: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire
People have expressed concerns about London’s busy streets as everyone is forced to head for the Tube at the same time (Picture: PA)
A street cleaner at work at closing time outside bars in Soho, London the day after pubs and restaurants were subject to a 10pm curfew to combat the rise in coronavirus cases in England. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday September 25, 2020. See PA story HEALTH Coronavirus. Photo credit should read: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire
Staff were seen clearing the streets as a night of revelry came to an early end (Picture: PA)
Drinkers finish their drinks at closing time outside bars in Soho, London the day after pubs and restaurants were subject to a 10pm curfew to combat the rise in coronavirus cases in England. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday September 25, 2020. See PA story HEALTH Coronavirus. Photo credit should read: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire
A number of towns across the UK went into local lockdowns as of midnight (Picture: PA)
Mayfair's three most popular night time hot spots Annabel's, Sexy Fish and Amazonico empty out and close their door at 10pm following the new Government Covid-19 guidelines. Causing crowds of people waiting for taxi rides home Pictured: Annabels member club closes at 10pm on the dot Ref: SPL5189006 240920 NON-EXCLUSIVE Picture by: Hewitt / SplashNews.com Splash News and Pictures USA: +1 310-525-5808 London: +44 (0)20 8126 1009 Berlin: +49 175 3764 166 photodesk@splashnews.com World Rights,
Busy streets as Mayfair’s three most popular night hotspots Annabel’s, Sexy Fish and Amazonico empty close their doors at 10pm (Picture: Hewitt / SplashNews.com)
Hundreds of people enjoyed a Friday night on the town in the pubs and bars in Guildhall Walk in Portsmouth, Hampshire - dated 25/9/20, which included Portsmouth University students and freshers who have recently arrived in the city. Pictured are the people queuing for the nearby Tesco store after 10pm to get supplies, with around a dozen Hampshire Police officers patrolling the area, No Byline Please Standard reproduction rates apply, contact Paul Jacobs, Picture Exclusive to arrange payment - 07923 866166, pictureexclusive@gmail.com
People were seen queuing outside a Tesco Express in Portsmouth after the 10pm curfew came into force
Staff pack seating outside bars in Soho, London the day after pubs and restaurants were subject to a 10pm curfew to combat the rise in coronavirus cases in England. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday September 25, 2020. See PA story HEALTH Coronavirus. Photo credit should read: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire
Staff are seen clearing away tables and chairs as the 10pm curfew approaches (Picture: PA)
? Licensed to London News Pictures. 25/09/2020. London, UK. Police patrol along Portobello Road in Notting Hill, west London before before a 10pm curfew comes in to place as part of new restrictions intended to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Photo credit: Ben Cawthra/LNP
Police were seen patrolling the streets in west London to enforce the curfew (Picture: Ben Cawthra / LNP)

One witness yesterday described the Tubes as ‘the busiest I’ve seen in central London for months’ as everyone ‘rolled onto the streets’ with no staggered leaving times.

Mr Johnson warned these lockdown measures could be left in place for six months at a minimum.

Scientists yesterday warned the UK’s R rate, which measures how quickly Covid-19 is spreading, is up once again from last week.

Data released yesterday by the Government Office for Science and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) shows the estimate for R for the whole of the UK is between 1.2 and 1.5.

This means on average, every 10 people who catch the disease will infect between 12 and 15 other people. It is thought the number of cases in the UK as a whole is growing between 4% and 8% per day.

It comes after there have been a further 6,874 cases of coronavirus recorded in the UK in the last 24 hours – another record increase for a single day.

The figures are up marginally on Thursday, when there were 6,634 positive tests, and brings the total number of cases to 423,236.

It’s the second day in a row when the number of new cases announced is higher than at any point during the pandemic.

Having not seen 6,000 cases a day since early May, the country has now breached this threshold for three days in a row. It comes amid fears of further lockdown restrictions across the country.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Enregistrer un commentaire

0 Commentaires