Pubs and shops packed in Wales as England faces two more weeks in lockdown
People were enjoying their second weekend of freedom after coming out of lockdown (Picture: Athena; Getty)
Boris Johnson is set to scrap the 10pm curfew on pubs and restaurants when lockdown ends on December 2. It is understood opening hours will be extended until 11pm in a major boost for the hard-hit hospitality industry. Last orders will still be called at 10pm but Brits will get another hour to finish their meals and drinks, the Mail on Sunday reports. The PM is expected to detail his plan for winter to MPs on Monday as he sets out how people can see their loved ones at Christmas, as well as a tougher three-tiered system for England after lockdown.
Non-essential shops, gyms, hairdressers and places of worship have reopened and supermarkets are now allowed to sell non-essential items. Meanwhile, households can only mix inside a home if they have joined into a ‘bubble’. On Saturday evening Downing Street confirmed England’s national lockdown will end on December 2, when a stricter version of the tier-three system will come into force.
People in Cardiff took advantage of non-essential shops being open and did their Christmas shopping (Picture: Getty Images)
Streets in Cardiff were so busy it was difficult to socially distance (Picture: Getty Images)
People in Swansea were not put off by the wet weather and still met friends to go out(Picture: Athena Pictures)
In the meantime, bars have been told to make people prove they live in Wales to prevent people from England breaking its lockdown rules and traveling to Wales to socialise and go out. Unlike with Scotland there are no restrictions on where people can travel within Wales but people are supposed to have a reasonable excuse to leave the country.
Yesterday First Minister Mark Drakeford urged people not to ‘fritter away’ lockdown ‘success’ after seeing the ‘first signs’ of the firebreak working. Martyr Tydfil, a town previously registered with the highest rate of new cases in the UK, has seen the biggest drop in cases in Wales from around 770 cases per 100,000 to now below 260 as the effect of the country’s 17-day firebreak begins to work. Merthyr Tydfil County Borough council is offering coronavirus tests to residents and workers even if they have no symptoms
Pubs still have to close at 10pm (Picture: PA)
The mass testing scheme is similar to that currently underway in Liverpool in England. On Saturday evening, the same day the scheme was launched, the council said 560 people had attended the testing centre on the first day. Mr Drakeford warned that if coronavirus cases rise people will not have Christmas freedoms because ‘our top priority has to be dealing with a public health emergency’.
Although the four home nations all took a different approach to lifting a reimposing lockdowns, they are understood to be working together to develop a common approach to Christmas. Downing Street is said to be mulling over a plan – subject to agreement from the governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – for a UK-wide relaxation of rules, reportedly from December 22 to 28, so that several families can join in one ‘bubble’. Further details are expected to be outlined on Monday, when Prime Minister Boris Johnson will address parliament and later the nation in a TV address. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
Source:metro.co.uk/