Experts are warning coronavirus cases will spike next week and the country could be plunged into a fourth lockdown if people fail to heed advice over the Easter bank holiday weekend.
Police have stepped up patrols and are begging parents to control their children over the four-day break, in the wake of carnage seen across the country this week.
Lockdown restrictions eased for the first time in months on Monday, allowing groups to meet outdoors – but experts fear the loosening of rules may lead to a dangerous spike in Covid cases, with millions expected to use the four-day Easter break to enjoy the first weekend of eased restrictions to meet with family and friends.
Professor Adam Finn tweeted: ‘Throngs of young people crowded together in their hundreds enjoying the beautiful warm evening together by the water. A complete change. If this is happening everywhere then we can confidently expect case numbers to rise next week.’
And Professor Lawrence Young warned the virus was ‘still out there and very infectious.’
He told the Sun Online: ‘While the risk of transmission is low in outdoor spaces, crowding together could result in some spread of the virus and it’s too easy to take liberties which we consider to be low risk but aren’t e.g. close contact by hugging or popping inside to go to somebody else’s toilet.
‘We need to hang on in there with the current restrictions for a bit longer – none of us want another lockdown.’
This comes as police forces across the country including Merseyside, Humberside, Dorset, Sussex and Cheshire today issued stern warnings that officers will be out enforcing lockdown measures, such as the rule of six.
An RAC survey projects 5.6million cars will hit the road this weekend to visit loved ones, taking advantage of the four-day holiday and end of three-month ‘stay at home’ orders, which were replaced with ‘stay local’ on Monday.
Pressure is mounting on Boris Johnson to speed up the lifting of lockdown restrictions, in the face of the shrinking outbreak and successful vaccination drive. But the Prime Minister has so far defied calls from anti-lockdown Tory MPs, sticking to his ultra-cautious roadmap back to normality.
Sun-seekers have been seizing upon the recent heatwave and cramming at parks and beaches since ‘stay at home’ orders were dropped on Monday
A survey by the RAC projects 5.6million cars will hit the road this weekend to visit loved ones, taking advantage of the four-day holiday and end of the ‘stay at home’ orders, which were replaced with ‘stay local’ on Monday. A14 traffic today, pictured
Other police chiefs warned ministers that the ‘rule of six’ is virtually unenforceable because of the two household concession, which puts no limit on numbers. Across the country yesterday:
- MANCHESTER: Police cleared drinkers from Castlefield Bowl after revellers gathered for a live DJ set;
- NOTTINGHAM: Officers seized bottles of alcohol from sunseekers and poured it onto the grass;
- LEICESTER: Police begged parents to control their children, admitting they ‘could not sort this alone’;
- HARBOROUGH: Councillor accused revellers they risk exploding ‘deadly Covid-19 timebomb’ after parties;
- LEEDS: Police threatened to disperse further big crowds after fights broke out at Hyde Park in Leeds.
One chief constable has told the Government that its Stay Local message is ‘a bit vague’ and difficult to enforce.
As lockdown has eased, PM Boris Johnson has dropped the Stay at Home slogan in England, instead opting for a Stay Local message to try to encourage people to be cautious as lockdown eases.
However, Chief Constable James Vaughan told the Government: ‘Like the travel guidance throughout the pandemic, it is slightly vague. The message from the Government whilst in this phase of the lockdown, it is still to say broadly local.
‘That is the advice. It is very difficult to enforce because there are no regulations behind it. I am not sure the stay local message is going to be very strong.’
Chief Constable Vaughan runs Dorset Police and is expecting an influx of visitors to his region over the Easter weekend.
He added: ‘We all know, with a bit of good weather this weekend, we are going to have a big influx of visitors. We rely on visitors but we ask them to respect the place and protect the place.
‘We do not want to be picking up 100 tonnes of rubbish, we want to get back to preventing crime, bringing offenders to justice, making everywhere safe, rather than fining people for having a barbecue or hugging their mum, we want to come away from that.’
The police are adamant the behaviour of last summer, which saw large groups fighting and littering beaches around the country, will not be repeated.
In a final part of his message Chief Constable Vaughan said: ‘Enjoy the weather, please do come to Dorset this summer and enjoy this wonderful county. However, please respect the place and help us protect it.
‘House parties are still going to be a problem but it is time to loosen up and allow people to have some fun, spend their money and enjoy the new found freedom. Easter is a time of hope, there is a good timing around restrictions easing.’
Residents living around tourism hotspots are even being encouraged to report visiting second-home owners to the police, with Dorset’s police chief warning: ‘People are very quick to pick the phone up and tell us.’
Tourism bosses also cautioned crowds against triggering a ‘false start’ and urged people to hold fire on until the next big relaxation on April 12 when bars and restaurants open.
After officers grappled with a wave of disobedience, one police chief tore into the new guidance for being too hazy.
Dorset’s chief constable James Vaughan said ‘Like the travel guidance throughout the pandemic, it is slightly vague. The message from the Government whilst in this phase of the lockdown, it is still to say broadly local.
‘That is the advice. It is very difficult to enforce because there are no regulations behind it. I am not sure the stay local message is going to be very strong.’
Sun-seekers have since been seizing upon the recent heatwave and cramming at parks and beaches, which have been left strewn with rubbish to the disgust of locals.
Although the Met Office forecasts a looming dip in temperatures, officers are still braced for a spike in footfall at beauty spots.
Police have also begged parents to control their children over the four-day Easter break after officers cleared thousands of boozy revellers from city centres across England last night.
Large crowds gathered in Manchester, London, Nottingham and Leeds on the last day of the UK’s searing 75F mini-heatwave, just days after national Covid-19 restrictions were eased.
Officers were seen clearing drinkers from Castlefield Bowl in Manchester city centre after hundreds gathered for a rave with a live DJ set, while police took similar action in London’s Hyde Park.
In Leeds, fights broke out in Hyde Park while police in Nottingham seized bottles of alcohol from sunseekers and poured it on the grass after ‘appalling scenes’ in the city’s arboretum earlier in the week.
While police in Leicestershire begged parents to control their children, Harborough councillor Phil Knowles accused revellers of ‘setting up another Covid-19 timebomb all set to explode’.
However, Chief Constable James Vaughan of Dorset Police has suggested the chaos witnessed yesterday – including a live DJ set and brawls – has been caused by ‘slightly vague’ messaging not backed by law.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson dropped the Stay at Home diktat in England on Monday, instead swapping it for a Stay Local message to try to encourage people to be cautious as lockdown eases.
Mr Vaughan said: ”Like the travel guidance throughout the pandemic, it is slightly vague. The message from the Government whilst in this phase of the lockdown, it is still to say broadly local. It is very difficult to enforce because there are no regulations behind it. I am not sure the stay local message is going to be very strong.’
Paddy Tipping, Nottinghamshire’s police and crime commissioner, said that police believe they can control the crowds if they can ‘get on top of control over alcohol confiscation, and make the people holding it pour it away’.
The hot weather which baked much of the UK this week is set to give way to a chilly Easter weekend, with Good Friday expected to be fine before developing into rain on Easter Sunday and possibly sleet or snow in Scotland.
The tougher approach to enforcing the rule of six comes amid warnings from experts that throwing out all social distancing could lead to a large spike in infections, even after millions have received vaccines.
Hundreds of revelers attended a massive illegal rave last night in the Castlefield Bowl, Manchester City Centre
Hundreds of revelers attended a massive illegal rave last night in the Castlefield Bowl, Manchester City Centre
Other police chiefs warned ministers that the ‘rule of six’ is virtually unenforceable because of the two household concession, which puts no limit on numbers. Across the country yesterday:
The biggest crowds yesterday appeared to be at Woodhouse Moor in Leeds, where hundreds of people gathered – and West Yorkshire Police warned they would ‘disperse groups of over six, using fines where appropriate to do so’.
Elsewhere in the region a 14-year-old boy died after getting into difficulty at a waterfall. He was spotted struggling in a pool at about 6pm yesterday below the Goit Stock Waterfall beauty spot at Cullingworth near Bradford.
Officers from the Harborough and Lutterworth unit who have been patrolling parks as sunseekers were out enjoying the warm weather after asking for public help.
Police went between parks yesterday to ‘keep everything under control’ when another drunk child was escorted home and asked parents to consider where their children were and what they were doing.
But last night, during the second night of park patrols, the team begged for help on Twitter, saying they ‘could not sort this alone’. Harborough and Lutterworth team Tweeted: ‘As predicted we are busy between parks and busy with normal demand. We are having to take another child home who is drunk from a park.
‘We have dedicated officers who are going from park to park to try and keep everything under control. We cannot sort this alone, we need your help.’
Cllr Knowles, who leads the Liberal Democrat group on Harborough council, accused revellers of ‘setting up another Covid-19 timebomb all set to explode’.
‘The last thing we want to do is to spark off a new wave of infections in Harborough and go straight back to square one,’ he told the Harborough Mail. ‘Can you imagine more people dying, more people struck down – and all of us going back into lockdown? It would be catastrophic.’
He added: ‘This behaviour is so wrong on so many levels. What has got into these people? … None of them were wearing masks or keeping their social distance. How can they think this is right?’
Police forces across the UK are urging revellers to show some restraint. Chief Superintendent Matt Nicholls, from Hertfordshire Constabulary, said: ‘We’re all well aware what is permitted as we ease out of lockdown under the roadmap and I’m grateful to see the vast majority of people complying with the new rules.
‘Our officers will be carrying out additional patrols across the county over the long weekend, engaging, explaining and encouraging everyone to do the right thing. Enforcement action remains our last resort.’
Yorkshire police urged people not to flock to the area over the weekend, while Northumberland police said they were bracing themselves for a surge in visitors to beauty spots.
Northumbria Police’s Northern Communities Chief Inspector Ron Charlton said: ‘Anticipating that beauty spots around the area will be popular places for people to meet, we have brought forward a number of initiatives to tackle anti-social behaviour.
‘This includes extra patrols in parks, the countryside and along the coastline. We want to be clear anti-social behaviour is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
West Midlands Police told the i they would continue to engage with the community, but that flagrant rule breakers would not go unpunished. A spokesperson said: ‘Our officers and PCSOs will positively and politely engage in conversation and through explanation or encouragement seek to resolve the breach.
‘If we are faced with significant and blatant breaches with clearly identifiable large gatherings, people can expect to receive enforcement action.’
Warwickshire Police said ‘additional high visibility patrols’ would be deployed over the weekend. ACC Alex Franklin Smith said: ‘We have seen an increase in parties and gatherings in recent weeks, and this is not sensible.’
The hot weather which baked much of the UK this week is set to give way to a chilly Easter weekend. Parts of the UK saw temperatures hit almost 24C (75.2F) on Wednesday, with Weybourne, north Norfolk leading the way at a peak of 23.9C (75F).
The figure fell just shy of the nation’s hottest ever March temperature of 25.6C (78F), which was recorded in 1968 at Mepal in Cambridgeshire. But the warm weather will not extend into the Easter weekend, with temperatures forecast to drop to the low teens in the east of England from Thursday.
Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said a ‘cold front’ will start moving down from the north, bringing with it colder, windier conditions in stark contrast to the previous ‘warm southerly winds’.
Good Friday is expected to be fine and sunny for much of the UK before developing into rain on Easter Sunday, with the chance of sleet or snow in Scotland and the far north of England.
Temperatures are expected to bottom-out on Easter Monday, with the mercury likely to hover around 0C (32F) in much of Scotland and north east England.
The hottest place in Britain by 2pm yesterday was Weybourne in Norfolk which hit 74.5F (23.6C). This was 36.4F (20.2C) warmer than the coldest place in the UK at the same time, Dalwhinnie in the Highlands, with 38.1F (3.4C).
Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick urged people to make the most the latest easing of lockdown restrictions in England in a ‘sensible, cautious’ manner, enjoying the sunshine but also being careful and sticking to the rules.
He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: ‘We’ve all waited a long time to meet family and friends outdoors with these very limited freedoms we have now. We just need to exercise caution and be sensible and pragmatic.
‘I think the vast majority of people will do that. They will enjoy the sunshine this week and over the Easter weekend, but they will do that in a sensible and cautious way.’
Mr Jenrick added that people should try ‘to be careful, sticking to the rules’, while Health Secretary Matt Hancock tweeted last night: ‘Let’s enjoy the sun but let’s do it safely. We have come so far, don’t blow it now.’
Their comments come after the Prime Minister said he hoped people would take advantage of the ‘beautiful weather’ to play sport or exercise, while also emphasising the country should still ‘proceed with caution’.
