Revellers took to the streets of Liverpool tonight for one last drinking session before the city moves into a ‘very high alert’ tomorrow.
From 5pm on Wednesday, hundreds of pubs in the northwest will be closed for four weeks after Liverpool was moved straight into the top tier of lockdown.
Photographs showed party-goers making the most of their final hours in the pub before the city is plunged into the lockdown in an attempt to limit the spread of coronavirus.
According to the latest rules, locals will only be allowed out of their areas for essential travel such as for work, education or health, but they must return before the end of the day, with the country divided into ‘medium’, ‘high’ and ‘very high’ risk sectors.
If a business is closed due to third tier restrictions, the Government will pay two thirds of each employee’s salary, up to a maximum of £2,100 a month, according to The Telegraph.
From 5pm on Wednesday, hundreds of pubs in the northwest will be closed for four weeks after Liverpool was moved straight into the top tier of lockdown. Pictured, revellers in Liverpool
Drinkers out in Liverpool before Tier 3 restrictions close bars and pubs from tomorrow. Liverpool is the only area in the top bracket of lockdown measures so far, and the city is going further than the basic restrictions by closing leisure centres, gyms, betting shops and casinos
Photographs showed party-goers making the most of their final hours in the pub before the city is plunged into lockdown to try to limit the spread of coronavirus
Three women in Liverpool the night before new measures across the region are set to come into force after the six boroughs in the Liverpool City Region were placed in Tier 3, the highest level, of the government’s new coronavirus warning system
Revellers appeared to be in high spirits as they enjoyed a night of drinking in pubs in Liverpool. All bars in the city will have to close from tomorrow
Bars open their doors on the final night in Liverpool, north west England on October 13 before new local lockdown measures are imposed to help stem a second wave of the novel coronavirus COVID-19
Outdoor seating was left empty in the street beside Sweeney’s Bar in Liverpool as a rise in coronavirus cases in the city caused some to make the decision to stay away from venues
A packed heated outside area at a bar in Liverpool this evening. The Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) put forward two dozen suggestions about how to navigate the country through a second wave of the pandemic in September – many of which fell on deaf ears
For tier two, households will not be allowed to mix indoors, similar to restrictions already in place in Middlesbrough and Hartlepool, while tier one will be similar to the rules currently in place across the country.
Liverpool is the only area in the top bracket of lockdown measures so far, and the city is going further than the basic restrictions by closing leisure centres, gyms, betting shops and casinos.
Data shows that Covid-19 infection rates at universities in hotspots like Sheffield, Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham are up to seven times higher than in the cities around them.
It comes after Number 10 was blasted for not ‘following the science’ after bombshell documents showed ministers shunned a number of recommendations by their expert advisers before unveiling the latest suite of lockdown measures.
The Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) put forward two dozen suggestions about how to navigate the country through a second wave of the pandemic in September – many of which fell on deaf ears.
Top of the list was a national ‘circuit-breaker’, which would’ve seen the country revert to a spring-level lockdown for about a month to bring the outbreak under control. But it was overruled by Boris Johnson amid fears it would ‘shatter’ the already wounded economy.
Bars opened their doors for the final night in Liverpool before a four-week shut down to try to stem the spread of the disease
A news crew in a near deserted Matthews Street in Liverpool, the night before new measures across the region are set to come into force
A couple walks through Temple Court in Liverpool the night before new measures across the region are set to come into force
According to the latest rules, locals will only be allowed out of their areas for essential travel such as for work, education or health, but they must return before the end of the day, with the country divided into ‘medium’, ‘high’ and ‘very high’ risk sectors. Pictured, people walking past bars in Liverpool
Number 10 has repeatedly rolled out ministers to defend the lagging £12billion programme, which is still failing to find four in 10 people who are suspected of having the disease. Pictured, people out in Liverpool
Ministers also ignored warnings that the 10pm curfew would have ‘marginal impact’ and went ahead with the scheme anyway, angering hospitality bosses, local councillors and even their own backbenchers.
SAGE warned the Government’s beleaguered Test and Trace system was having ‘marginal impact on transmission at the moment’. They said the scheme will ‘further decline’ unless it grows at the same rate as the epidemic.
Number 10 has repeatedly rolled out ministers to defend the lagging £12billion programme, which is still failing to find four in 10 people who are suspected of having the disease.
The three files — released late last night — also revealed closing gyms and leisure centres would likely have ‘low to moderate’ impact on the spread of Covid-19 and risked harming people’s mental and physical health.
Data shows that Covid-19 infection rates at universities in hotspots like Sheffield, Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham are up to seven times higher than in the cities around them. Pictured, women out in Sheffield tonight
For tier two, households will not be allowed to mix indoors, similar to restrictions already in place in Middlesbrough and Hartlepool, while tier one will be similar to the rules currently in place across the country. Pictured, people out in Liverpool
Bars in Liverpool with have to close down for four weeks to curb the spread of coronavirus in the city. Pictured, revellers enjoying a drink inside a bar
Liverpool’s bars and pubs will close at 10pm on Tuesday evening for the last time for four weeks after the Government unveiled its latest restrictions
SAGE warned the Government’s beleaguered Test and Trace system was having ‘marginal impact on transmission at the moment’. They said the scheme will ‘further decline’ unless it grows at the same rate as the epidemic. Pictured, a pub in Liverpool on Tuesday evening
SAGE told the Government on September 21 that a complete three-week shut down could reset the virus’s trajectory, bring the reproduction ‘R’ rate below the dreaded level of one and give the country breathing room heading into winter. Pictured, a pub in Liverpool
Yet the Prime Minister announced yesterday that they would be shut in ‘Tier Three’ lockdown areas with highest infection rates, putting thousands of jobs in jeopardy.
The group warned in the September papers that hospital admissions for Covid-19 could reach levels seen in darkest days of the crisis in spring, when 3,000 a day were admitted, by the end of October if lockdown-tightening measures were not introduced. At the time the files were published, the spread of the virus was doubling every fortnight.
SAGE told the Government on September 21 that a complete three-week shut down could reset the virus’s trajectory, bring the reproduction ‘R’ rate below the dreaded level of one and give the country breathing room heading into winter.
The experts on the same day said alcohol’s effect on behaviour and the tendency for pub-goers to shout meant bars were likely breeding grounds for the virus. They endorsed the idea of shutting them entirely, which they say would bring the R down by 0.1 and 0.2. But they warned a curfew would only have a ‘marginal impact’.
Yet, in a sign of the growing rift between the Government and its scientists, just a day later Mr Johnson used a Downing Street press conference to introduce the controversial curfew. It is just one example of ministers ignoring ‘the science’.