Coronavirus lockdown: Hundreds of pubs across North West set to close for a month from 5pm on Wednesday
HUNDREDS of pubs across the North West of England look set to close for a month from 5pm on Wednesday.
As part of the government’s new ‘three-tier’ lockdown system, hospitality venues in hard-hit areas will shut in a bid to stem the spread of the bug.
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reports that Boris Johnson will use a Commons statement and televised Downing Street press conference tomorrow to set out the streamlined new local lockdown system.
It is also expected that the Prime Minister will unveil three risk tiers: “medium”, ‘high” and “very high”.
The new measures will be debated in the Commons later this week ahead of a vote.
Six boroughs across the Liverpool City Region are expected to be the first to be plunged into the highest ‘tier three’ lockdown, with some 1.6 million people affected.
The Army logistics corps has also reportedly been called up to help with test and trace in the region through mobile centres staffed by soldiers.
Under the new lockdown rules, the city’s pubs, gyms, casinos, bookies and social clubs will be shut for at least a month - with restrictions possibly lasting up to six months.
But Joe Anderson, the mayor of Liverpool, has claimed that Downing Street is discriminating against the North - and said support for closed businesses was being given “on the cheap”.
Liverpool currently has the country's second-highest infection rate, with 928.2 cases per 100,000 people in the two weeks up to October 4.
The new restrictions could also affect Greater Manchester, with the region yet to agree on its status with the Government.
The region is currently resisting the new measures and has threatened legal action should the government refuse to bump up its financial aid.
Sacha Lord, the night time economy adviser to the Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham, tonight confirmed that he had started legal proceedings to challenge the looming lockdown of hospitality and entertainment venues.
Local leaders have repeatedly warned that the measures will cripple the hospitality industry and do widespread economic damage.
According to plans seen by The Sun, under Tier 3 households will also not be allowed to mix either indoors or outdoors, nor will residents of red zone areas be allowed to travel outside of their area for anything but work, education on health reasons.
Officials have dubbed this the “GOBI” approach - Good Outside, Bad Indoors.
However, these extra restrictions are not expected to be enforced in Liverpool for the time being.
A senior minister also told the Telegraph that the new plans aimed to empower local leaders following allegations that Downing Street had left them out of important strategy discussions.
They said: “Mayors have been saying they have not been involved. They are now.
Mayors have been saying they have not been involved. They are now
A senior minister
“With that comes greater responsibility.
“We are introducing localism. We want them to own it.”
Areas under 'medium' restrictions will cover most of the country, where the current rule of six and 10pm curfew limits social interaction.
“High” risk areas, such as Liverpool, will see a ban on households mixing indoors, with the exception of two households meeting up within the cap of six people in private gardens.
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It comes as the UK's daily coronavirus cases fell by more than 2,000 as 12,872 tested positive in the past 24 hours.
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Meanwhile, one of the main medical advisers to the British government has warned that the country is at a tipping point in its battle against the coronavirus pandemic.
England's deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, said in a statement that the country is at a tipping point similar to where we were in March.
