In the wake of Covid’s new restrictions on hospitality, city centres across Scotland and Wales were left desolate and lifeless. However revellers in England let their hair down after Sajid Javid said that no new rules would apply before New Years Eve.
New restrictions were imposed Monday on nightclubs in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The rule of six was reintroduced and social distancing has been reinstated for restaurants and pubs.
England is the last part of the UK that party-goers can enjoy New Year’s Eve in peace after Boris Johnson listened carefully to hospitality managers and refused new Covid curbs.
The Prime Minister held crunch talks with chief advisors Professor Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance over the spread of Covid variant Omicron on Monday. Johnson stated that Johnson will use guidance rather than legally binding laws to control socialising in the New year.
He added that, “We will continue monitoring the data carefully but there won’t any new restrictions put in England before January 1st.” But, I encourage everyone to be cautious given Omicron case numbers.
“I urge you to immediately get your first, second or booster vaccination to ensure that you and your loved ones are protected.
Official coronavirus statistics appeared to justify No10’s reluctance to resort to economically-crippling curbs, with the number of cases recorded in England having fallen every day since Christmas.
Today’s confirmed infected cases rose by 7% over a week, to 98.515, but these figures are for England and do not reflect the entire country.
The cases in Scotland rose to new heights during Christmas, however, the totals won’t be updated until Wednesday as they are not included in the UKwide update. Officially tomorrow, the tolls in Wales for Christmas will be recorded.
First Ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford were also today accused of ‘jumping the gun’ and ‘devastating the hospitality industry’ by bringing in tougher restrictions.
The first day of new Bank Holiday Monday rules saw traditionally bustling streets in Cardiff and Swansea as well as Edinburgh, Glasgow and Edinburgh looking dry and grumbly.
England was the opposite. In England, however, the alcohol-fueled crowds of London and Leeds were still in festive spirits – it even braved the rain on Bank Holiday Monday to take advantage of the looser hospitality regulations.
The quiet High Street of Cardiff was peaceful Monday night, after Covid curbs were placed in Wales that restricted the hospitality industry.
The normally busy Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow is desolate with only a handful of revellers amid the introduction of new Covid rules
A woman walks by the closed Winter Wonderland, Cardiff. It was shut down earlier than expected due to new measures.
A worker attaches the Santa Claus and Santa sleigh models to the rear of a car at Winter Wonderland, Cardiff
After a revision of the alert level 2 measures was put in place on Boxing Day, a Cardiff Church Street is now empty
After First Minister Mark Drakeford’s introduction of new Covid measures, empty chairs and tables were found on High Street near Castle Arcade in Cardiff.
After the closure of nightclubs for three weeks in December 27, Wind Street remains quiet on Swansea’s main drag.
Hospitality restrictions have caused some changes to the interior of Glasgow’s Campus bar, located in Sauchiehall Street.
The introduction of Covid hospitality restrictions has left many cities in Scotland and Wales desolate.
A peaceful Wind Street is found in Swansea, despite the new Covid rules that saw the closure of all nightclubs in Wales.
Scotland allows up to three households to meet. One-metre distance is allowed between them at both indoor and outdoor venues, such as restaurants, bars, theatres, cinemas, and gyms.
For places that serve alcohol, tables must be served.
Wales has a limit of 6 people who can meet up in cinemas, bars and restaurants. However, social distancing will return and only 30 people will be permitted to attend indoor events. Outdoors it may increase to 50 people.
Northern Ireland also restricts socializing to just three households. However, up to six individuals can be seated in bars, restaurants, and pubs.
Nightclubs will be closed on New Year’s Eve and dancing will be prohibited in hospitality venues, although this will not apply to weddings.
Residents reacted angrily to the fact that plans for celebrating the New Year were canceled after Mr Johnson granted the green light to England.
Eileen Queen called the decision an “utter disgrace”.
Twitter: “An absolute disgrace that Sturgeon has all us having three weeks of this. 500 football fan a game. Hospitality hit horribly.
The English government ignores advice and does nothing to heed it. This is how sturgeon feels about us. He has never detested any politician in his entire life.
A resident stated that Boris had wrongfooted Sturgeon as he followed science, while she adhered to her flawed nationalist political agenda.
‘She has single-handedly devastated the Scottish hospitality industry and ruined the country’s New Year festivities’
Another person wrote: “Drakeford & Sturgeon leapt the gun. They must pay for the harm they did to Scottish and Welsh businesses.
“They cannot turn to the UK to finance their authoritarian actions.”
Also, earlier in the week Ms. Sturgeon received a lot of criticism for refusing to decrease self-isolation requirements for 10 days. This was to avoid bringing it up to par with England’s approach. Now it is seven days and there are two lateral flow positive tests every day on days 6 and 7.
Glasgow nightclub owner described the Scottish National Party’s members as “Grinches”, while twitter users shared memes featuring Mr Drakeford’s and Ms Sturgeon’s faces on top of posters from the 2000 film How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
After Boris Johnson said that no new rules will be implemented before New Year’s Eve celebrations, Revellers photos taken outside Leeds nightclubs
To make the most out of the looser restrictions on hospitality in England, party-goers braved wet weather for Bank Holiday Monday
On Monday night, a large crowd gathered in Leicester Square, central London.
Leeds partygoers brave rain to wait in the queue at a Leeds nightclub.
Crowd of mask-wearing people in a London venue, Leicester Square. No new restrictions were introduced.
Today’s eagerly awaited Covid statistics provided a breakdown on the UK situation on Christmas Day (or Boxing Day) when there were no publicly available figures.
Christmas Day: England recorded 113,628 positive results.
A further 108,893 were logged on Boxing Day – 103,558 in England and 5,335 in Wales.
In the next few days, equivalent figures for Scotland or Northern Ireland will be incorporated into the government’s system.
According to separate hospitalisation statistics for England, there were 1,281 Covid admits on December 25,
The number was 74% higher week-on–week than February 16, and is now the highest since February 16.
Admissions to the coronavirus second wave peaked at more than 4,100 on January 12.
While revellers celebrated in England on Monday, Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, continued to threaten England with tighter restrictions in 2022 in order to align England with other home countries. He urged revellers to “remain cautious”.
Following the release of the daily Covid statistics, Mr Javid told broadcasters: ‘We look at the data on a daily basis – that hasn’t changed over the Christmas period.
“But we will take no additional measures until the new year. As we get closer to New Year’s Eve celebrations, it is important that people remain vigilant.
“Take a lateralflow test if it makes sense. If possible, enjoy outside and have ventilation.
“Please be cautious, and we’ll see if we need to take further steps when we enter the new year. But, until then, nothing else.
Nicola Sturgeon was Scotland’s first minister, and imposed more restrictions than usual for the country. She also canceled plans for Hogmanay celebrations.
Mark Drakeford, the First Minister of Wales speaks at a press conference held in Cathays Park’s Welsh Government Building on December 22,
Johnson won praise from his own party when he decided against following the UK into new Covid rules.
Brendan Clarke Smith (Tory backbencher) said that this was great news. He was among the Tories who had voted against Plan B before Christmas.
“Not great news” for covid socialists, scaremongers, and mask sellers. Let’s just hope that there are no further restrictions.
In the recent days, the PM of England has considered several restrictions, such as closing bars and restaurants, or limiting how many people can meet indoors.
However, beleaguered hospitality managers have been able to welcome the decision to oppose their introduction. This is a much-needed respite after Christmas which was plagued by cancelled flights due to Omicron.
Boris has his nerve and New Year’s Eve goes on. Sajid Javid rules no Covid restrictions after the highest number of hospital admissions since February. But, he failed to breach London’s key lockdown threshold. Cases rose just 7% to 98.515
Stephen Matthews, Chay Quin Health Editor and David Wilcock Whitehall Correspondent MailOnline
Today, England’s New Year’s Eve celebrations received the go-ahead after being held up for weeks by Omicron Warnings. Boris Johnson held his ground in spite of the grim warnings of his advisors and avoided any harsh new restrictions.
The Prime Minister would rather rely upon guidance that encourages people to limit socialising than to impose legal binding curbs such as those in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland.
He held crunch talks this morning with Professor Chris Whitty (his chief adviser) and Sir Patrick Vallance (his chief advisor). This raised the possibility that No10 will impose new restrictions before the end of the year. He has refused to compromise on his demands for more aggressive action.
Sajid Javid confirmed that England was going it alone when it decided to keep the panic button on fire. He stated: “There will not be any further measures until the new year.” Sky News reported that he said: “It is up to each country making up the UK how it wishes to proceed.”
However, the Health Secretary warned that England would tighten restrictions by 2022 to make it more like the other countries. He urged people to be cautious.
Official coronavirus statistics appeared to justify No10’s reluctance to resort to economically-crippling curbs, with the number of cases recorded in England having fallen every day since Christmas.
After a meeting today with scientists, Boris Johnson (pictured), has decided not to impose any strict Covid restrictions on the new year.
Chris Whitty was the Chief Medical Officer in England and Patrick Vallance was Chief Scientific Adviser. To discuss legal measures to counter Omicron, the Prime Minister will meet with his advisers.
Today’s confirmed infected cases rose by 7% over a week, to 98.515, but these figures are for England and do not reflect the entire country.
The cases in Scotland rose to new heights over the Christmas break, but they won’t be included as part of the UK update until Wednesday. Tomorrow will see the official recording of Wales’s tolls over Christmas.
But, data from other sources revealed that the NHS is under threat by Omicron’s New Year. Covid hospital admissions in England hit the highest level since February on Christmas Day, with 1,281 coronavirus-infected patients placed on wards, up 74 per cent in a week.
The same data that reveals how the super-infectious variant of the disease has caused spiralling infections rates across the nation also shows Omicron-hotspot London’s daily hospitalisations are below No10, the threshold for new England-wide restrictions. The official data shows that London’s epidemic is declining, which is encouraging.
Deaths have increased more than three times since last Monday, when 44 were recorded. However, this is due to a record lag. There were no fatalities on Christmas Day and only three on Boxing Day.
To remove all legal restrictions, Parliament must be recalled within 48 hours. This can happen quickly and could cause fury among Tory backbenchers. It would also create serious problems in the hospitality sector.
Yet, Johnson was applauded by his party members for staying firm today. Conservative MPs stated that data doesn’t support tougher actions. Andrew Bridgen described the actions taken in Scotland, Wales as an “overreaction”.
It was:
- As leaders of nations try to stop the Omicron variant spreading, tensions flared as stricter coronavirus regulations were placed in Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Neil Ferguson of “Professor Lockdown” described how he was’something like a marmite character’, admitting that he’d made mistakes during the pandemic and had ‘oversimplified’ things.
- Union bosses warn that entire year-long groups of students may be sent home by their headteachers, if Omicron causes staffing problems when schools resume next month.
- Beijing has directed that all roads, buildings, and open areas in the Chinese Chinese city of Xian are disinfected.
Following the release of the daily Covid statistics, Mr Javid told broadcasters: ‘We look at the data on a daily basis – that hasn’t changed over the Christmas period.
“But we will take no additional measures until the new year. As we get closer to New Year’s Eve celebrations, it is important that people remain vigilant.
“Take a lateralflow test if it makes sense. If possible, enjoy outside and have ventilation.
“Please be cautious, and we’ll see if we need to take further steps when we enter the new year. But, until then, nothing else.
Brendan Clarke Smith, Tory backbencher and one of those Tories who voted against Plan B restrictions prior to Christmas, has praised the government’s action.
He stated, “This news is fantastic and everyone will welcome it. They want to continue their lives and be able enjoy the new year.”
“Not so great news for scaremongers, Covid socialists, and mask sellers.
“Now, let’s pray there are no more restrictions after that.”
The much-anticipated Covid statistics today also provided a breakdown on the situation on Christmas Day (when no figures were released publicly)
Christmas Day: England recorded 113,628 positive results.
A further 108,893 were logged on Boxing Day – 103,558 in England and 5,335 in Wales.
Over the next days, the equivalent numbers for Scotland and Northern Ireland should trickle into the Government’s system.
There were separate hospitalization figures in England. 1281 Covid admissions as of December 25.
The number was 74% higher week-on–week than February 16, and is now the highest since February 16.
Admissions to the coronavirus second wave peaked at more than 4,100 on January 12.
London saw 364 admissions on Christmas Day. This is an improvement of 73% from the previous week. However, it still fell below 390 admissions on December 23.
The figure was also less than 400 per day, the number Government advisers believed could be used to trigger national restrictions.
The second wave of admissions peaked at London’s 977 in January 6.
In the recent days, the PM of England has considered several restrictions, such as closing bars and restaurants, or limiting how many people can meet indoors.
Last night, the struggling hospitality industry asked Mr Johnson not to give up despite positive signs Omicron might be less dangerous than previous versions.
The Government has assured that the government will not impose any additional restrictions on pub and restaurant owners before the New Year.
After a difficult Christmas season, cancellations caused by fears about the Omicron version of Covid had been causing havoc at many hospitality establishments.
Daniel Farrow is the owner of The Gatherers restaurant and bar in Norwich. He said that 60% of his bookings were cancelled during the week leading up to Christmas.
According to Mr Farrow (26), “It is really good news. It really helps people.
‘But you know what? Having a positive New Year’s day will be just one of many good days in a month where we should have been trading at maximum capacity. In fact, our trading volume was only 20%
As a result, all nightclubs in Scotland will close by today. Hospitality businesses must return to table service only if they are serving alcohol.
Restaurants, bars, and indoor entertainment venues such as theatres, museums, and gyms will all have to implement one-metre social distance regulations.
These restrictions were put in place after large events had been capped starting on Sunday.
Nicola Sturgeon was the First Minister and announced that 100 individuals would not be able sit down at an indoor event, while 200 people could stand.
Also, outdoor events will be limited to 500 participants – this rule has been the hardest hit by football players.
Jason Leach, Scotland’s national medical director, appeared to be criticizing Mr Johnson’s method this morning. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that the virus had never reached well enough to delay and has not reacted to slow, soft responses. Instead, it prefers hard, quick responses.