CLOSING TYNE
Hundreds hit the Toon for last boozy night out before North East lockdown and 10pm pub curfew
HUNDREDS of drinkers hit the Toon for a last boozy night out before a North East lockdown and a 10pm pub curfew kicks in today.
Revellers flocked to Newcastle bars for a final blowout before the region was slapped with strict new rules, as fears grow of a second national lockdown.
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More than two million people in the North East are now banned from meeting friends and family from other households - inside or outside.
Pubs, cafes and restaurants will be reduced to table service only, and they will have to shut between 10pm and 5am.
Similar measures are being considered for Leeds and London’s nine million population, The Sun understands.
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They could also include restrictions on the use of public transport and tougher fines for failing to wear a mask.
Today's ramped-up restrictions apply to two million people across Newcastle, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Gateshead, County Durham and Sunderland.
And there are fears of a fresh surge, with 40,000 students due back to Newcastle University and another 20,000 to Durham University.
Around 2,350 pubs and restaurants have been hit, according to real estate adviser Altus Group.
Sean Southern from The Gateshead Arms told MailOnline: "Things seemed to be getting better and then all of a sudden we're told last night that there's going to be big changes and we haven't really had time to prepare.
"People forget that closing at 10pm also has an impact on staff who might have wanted to pick up a few extra hours."
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It comes as scientists are advising the Government over a two-week national lockdown next month to battle the surge in coronavirus, it is reported.
Experts suggested an October lockdown during half term before the virus "breaks the NHS", reports.
Boris Johnson hasn't ruled out another national shutdown - although with the increasing number of lightning lockdowns across many regions, much of the country is already living with enforced changes.
While all of England is now having to adhere to the "rule of six" - which limits gatherings to half a dozen people - some entire regions are living with or soon face harsher rules.
The rise in regional restrictions comes as scientists advising the Government want a two-week national lockdown next month to battle the surge in coronavirus, it is reported.
Experts suggested an October lockdown during half term before the virus "breaks the NHS", reports.
And with Covid cases spiking alarmingly, testing chief Baroness Dido Harding enraged MPs by admitting officials did not expect demand to be so high.
NHS Test and Trace chief Lady Harding blamed scientists for not predicting that up to a million people a day would be demanding a check from a system with a capacity of just 250,000.
I don’t think anybody was expecting to see a really sizeable demand as we have over the course of the last few weeks
NHS Test and Trace chief, Lady Harding
She claimed “scared and worried” people were getting tested when they did not need to, also accusing a quarter of them of lying about their symptoms.
Lady Harding said: “I don’t think anybody was expecting to see a really sizeable demand as we have over the course of the last few weeks.
"None of the modelling expected (that)."
Meanwhile, the country's failing test and trace system could be outsourced to Amazon, the Telegraph reports.
And the "chaotic" coronavirus test labs are running out of staff as scientists struggle to cope with demand, according to The Times.
The testing fiasco was exposed as swathes of the country were placed under extra restrictions.
reports that tighter restrictions are also set to be imposed on Lancashire, excluding Blackpool, from Saturday.
The Lancashire lockdown will include Preston, Blackburn, Burnley, Lancaster and Morecambe, the broadcaster claims.
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Meanwhile, Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson has said he expects further restrictions to hit the North West this week.
The he said: "We know there will be Government meetings to decide what happens next on Friday, but we fully expect to be affected by lockdown measures having gone over the 100 cases per 100,000 government threshold.
"We think this could well be part of a wider North West lockdown, because you can see cases are rising across the whole region.
Liverpool has seen soaring coronavirus rates, with 106.4 cases per 100,000 people.
Virtues of a curfew
CURFEWS helped reduce infection rates in Belgium.
In late July all public venues shut at 11pm, and citizens were told to stay at home from 11.30pm until 6am.
In mid-August, as rates fell, the curfew was eased to 1.30am to 5am.
Earlier closing times can stop people getting too drunk and too close to other revellers.
But sociologist Prof Robert Dingwall, at Nottingham Trent University, said people might start their night outs earlier.
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As demand for tests rise throughout the country it was not possible to book a slot in Liverpool, Wirral, Bury or Salford yesterday, which are all areas within the top 20 highest infection rates in England.
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London has seen a rise of case rates in at least 30 boroughs, according to recent data. The city as a whole has an infection rate of 490.2.
And as the infection rate in around 20 boroughs teeters at the Government's threshold for bringing in restrictions, 500,000 students are set to arrive in the capital for university.
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With 10m already under local lockdowns and tough new rules we ask – where’s next?