Drinkers hit bars and pubs across the country for one more weekend of freedom

Drinkers flocked to pubs and bars across Britain tonight for a final weekend of freedom before the Government’s tough new ‘rule of six’ comes into force next week. 

Revellers gathered in busy beer gardens in London, Manchester and Nottingham in their masses ahead of the tightening of lockdown rules in the UK from Monday.

Under Boris Johnson’s strict new measures, groups of more than six can be broken up by police who will be able to hand out £100 fines to those who flout the rules. This will double on each repeat offence up to £3,200.    

Only schools, workplaces and a limited number of other locations will be exempt. 

The latest measure introduced to tackle the spread of coronavirus comes as a Government-led study today suggested the reproduction ‘R’ rate could be as high as 1.7 in England.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that the spike in infections justifies the Government’s new ‘rule of six’, warning people ‘the pandemic is not over’. 

As hundreds of Britons enjoyed a final night of freedom tonight, police bosses urged people to look after each other and avoid a ‘party weekend’ before the restrictions are implemented.        

John Apter, national chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: ‘There is a real risk some members of the public will take advantage of the current situation and treat this weekend as a party weekend ahead of the tighter restrictions being introduced on Monday.

‘Alcohol and warm weather are not a good combination at the best of times. Using the current situation as an opportunity and excuse to party would be incredibly irresponsible and put pressure not only on policing, but potentially on the ambulance service and NHS.

‘We are in the grip of a deadly pandemic and we have seen cases increasing over recent weeks. Policing is under pressure like never before, but my colleagues will give enforcement notices if they feel it’s appropriate, and we make no apology for doing so.’ 

Elsewhere, would-be revellers were encouraged to stay home as Birmingham became the latest city to be hit with localised lockdown rules after the number of coronavirus patients being admitted to hospitals doubled in a week. 

From Tuesday, more than 1.5million people in Birmingham and neighbouring Solihull and Sandwell will be banned from mixing with anyone outside of their own household in private homes, pubs, restaurants or in gardens.

Yesterday, police officers told the Telegraph they fear Britain will resemble the ‘last days of Rome’ after this weekend amid a storm of decadent planned pre-lockdown parties.  

One officer, based in the north east of England, said: ‘We are worried this weekend is going to be like the last days of Rome. 

‘If people think they are not going to be allowed to go out and enjoy themselves for the next few months, they are going to go crazy and we will be left picking up the pieces.’

Britons have promised to run riot and enjoy one last knees-up with friends before Mr Johnson’s stringent new coronavirus restrictions come into force.  

Many are having to cancel parties after warnings of a rapid increase in infections among people in their teens, 20s and 30s – but fears have risen that some will take the weekend as an opportunity to run wild and indulge in decadence not seen since the collapse of Europe’s first great empire.   

A senior officer said they were not sure if police had the resources to meet the challenge of thousands of people ignoring restrictions this weekend.   

Chairman of the Police Federation in West Yorkshire, Brian Booth, added officers were ‘flat out again doing the everyday things such as dealing with stabbings, shootings, drug dealers, missing people etc’. 

‘If we are going to be asked to focus on enforcement, something else will have to give,’ he said.      

The Government’s new ‘rule of six’ will be introduced on Monday amid fears coronavirus infections in England could be doubling every week with a reproduction ‘R’ rate as high as 1.7.

Mr Hancock today insisted the increased infection rate justifies the Government’s latest restriction, warning people ‘the pandemic is not over’.    

Experts who have been swabbing tens of thousands of people in England during the crisis found an estimated 13 people per 10,000 were infected between August 22 and September 7, compared to four people per 10,000 between July 24 and August 11.   

The scientists behind the Imperial College London REACT-1 study said the findings showed the epidemic is doubling in size every ‘seven to eight days’. By comparison, Covid-19 infections were increasing by twofold every three days at the start of the crisis. 

The Department of Health confirmed on Friday another 3,539 people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus and six more people have died. The new diagnoses are the highest since May 17.

And data from the Office for National Statistics suggests 3,200 people are getting sick every day in England and Wales – a surge of 45 per cent from last week’s prediction of 2,200. The number of people testing positive today may be higher because they were not all tested on the same day and test results take time to process, meaning they are not evenly distributed. 

The Imperial findings were published as the Government prepares to impose its new ‘rule of six’ social gathering restriction from Monday which outlaws groups of seven or more people from meeting up indoors and outdoors.

Mr Hancock said today: ‘The pandemic is not over, and everyone has a role to play.

‘It’s so important that everyone abides by the law and socialise in groups up to six, make space between you and those outside your household, get a test and self-isolate if you develop symptoms and wash your hands regularly.’ 

Mr Johnson is hoping the rule will help to get the virus back under control but there is a growing Tory backlash because while children will be exempted in Scotland and Wales, they will be subject to the restriction in England in a move which critics argue will make many family reunions impossible. 

Senior Conservatives have labelled the rule ‘absolutely grotesque’, accusing the Government of an unacceptable assault on personal freedom and liberty. They have also criticised ministers for imposing the measure without any debate or vote in Parliament.

The rule was agreed at a meeting of the Government’s coronavirus strategy committee earlier this week but a string of senior ministers were opposed to it.  

Announcing the tightening of restrictions at a No10 briefing on Wednesday, Mr Johnson suggested the ‘rule of six’ limit on how many people can socialise together will be in place for some time to come, after partying among the younger generation fuelled a sharp rise. 

Apart from a vaccine, he said the only other way out before Christmas was a ‘moonshot’ of introducing mass daily testing for everyone, but admitted that would require ‘everything to come together’.

The Prime Minister said infection rates among 17 to 18 year-olds and 19 to 21 year-olds the numbers had gone up ‘really quite steeply’ since mid-August. 

In a direct plea to young people, Mr Johnson said that they should consider their behaviour ‘for the sake of your parents’ and your grandparents’ health’.  

The limit is a dramatic reduction on the maximum of 30 put in place on July 4. 

It comes as Birmingham became the latest city to be hit with new draconian lockdown rules after the number of coronavirus patients being admitted to hospitals in the city doubled in a week. 

From Tuesday, more than 1.5million people in Birmingham and neighbouring Solihull and Sandwell will be banned from mixing with anyone outside of their own household in private homes, pubs, restaurants or in gardens. 

The move follows two days of crunch talks between the Government and local health leaders after Birmingham’s seven-day infection rate rose to 78 cases per 100,000. 

It’s difficult to compare Birmingham’s current case rate now to levels at the height of the pandemic because there was a lack of widespread testing during the first wave – meaning thousands of cases went missed and never appeared in the data.

Dr David Rosser, chief executive at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust, said hospitals in his city were seeing twice the amount of patients as last week. He warned the virus was on ‘an exponential curve’ in the city and he expects admissions to double again in seven days. 

Seven people are fighting for their lives in intensive care with the disease and 68 are on wards at the Queen Elizabeth and Heartlands NHS hospitals, according to local reports. And more than 800 people tested positive for the virus in the last week, meaning many could be just days away from needing hospital care.  

West Midlands mayor Andy Street, announcing the rules in the West Midlands this afternoon, said: ‘The following areas will now be escalated to an area of national intervention, with a ban on people socialising with people outside their own household.

‘The ban will take effect from Tuesday, September 15, but residents are advised to avoid household mixing before then as it has been identified as one of the drivers of transmission.’ He added the bans applied to the whole of Birmingham, Sandwell and Solihull.

‘This decision has been made in collaboration with local leaders who are considering additional local measures to tackle the increase in the number of cases. So to emphasise, this is about mixing between households, it is not about prevention of schools, workplaces, transport, any of the other options – it is about household mixing.’ 

The Leader of Birmingham City Council Ian Ward said there had been a steep rise in the number of new infections occurring at social gatherings and in private homes – as was also the case in other hotspots like Bolton, Leicester, and parts of Scotland, Wales and North West England. 

Health Secretary Matt Hancock echoed the councillor’s comments about social gatherings being the route cause of increased infections in the West Midlands, adding: ‘We will not hesitate to take further action if needed.’  

Meanwhile Liverpool city region has been included in the Government’s coronavirus watch list due to a rising number of infections there.

Kettering, Oadby and Wigston and Luton have been removed from the watchlist after transmission fell in these regions. Leeds also today avoided further Covid-19 restrictions as it was announced the city will instead receive enhanced support towards managing the rise in infection rates.

Elsewhere, in Lanarkshire, Scotland, lockdown measures were today tightened due to a rise in local coronavirus cases.  Restrictions on visiting other households will apply to both North and South Lanarkshire council areas from midnight tonight.

The move comes after 205 positive cases were identified in the region in the past week.

The restrictions, which will be reviewed in seven days, are the same as those currently in place in Glasgow City, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire and West Dunbartonshire.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: ‘It is clearly regrettable that these restrictions need to be extended to people living in Lanarkshire.

‘I understand that this will not be welcome news for people living in these areas, especially ahead of the weekend, but we must act now to protect people and get more control over the virus in the area.’