Brits told to behave or COVID-19 lockdowns will be reintroduced

Britain is in danger of having COVID-19 lockdowns reintroduced after a weekend in which social distancing was widely flouted when pubs reopened.

Britain is in danger of having COVID-19 lockdowns reintroduced after a weekend in which social distancing was widely flouted when pubs reopened across the country.

Thousands of people ignored the 1m distancing rules as they packed into nightlife districts such as Soho in London and the centres of other big cities.

The same complaint could be heard across the Atlantic where the US registered a record seven-day average of new coronavirus cases for the 26th day in a row.

Miami mayor Francis Suarez said his state’s early reopening had been a key factor in Florida’s daily record of 11,445 cases on Saturday. “People started socialising as if the virus didn’t exist,” he said.

While there were isolated incidents of violence across Britain, the widespread disorder predicted by some police did not materialise.

But fears of a second wave of coronavirus were heightened by images of crowded streets with drinkers hugging each other without wearing masks.

British Health Minister Matt Hancock said the government would not shrink from more drastic measures, similar to the localised lockdown in the East Midlands city of Leicester last week after an outbreak.

He said most people had acted responsibly. “But of course we’ll take action when we need to … if the minority break the rules.”

The narrow streets of Soho were crowded with thousands of pubgoers who clearly did not abide by social distancing as they partied until the early hours of Sunday morning. There were similar crowded scenes at Borough Market, in Southwark, south London. Drinkers in Brighton ­ignored social distancing guidelines by hugging, shaking hands, sharing drinks and grouping around tables.

In the US state of Arizona there were a record 2577 virus patients in hospitals on Saturday. Kate Gallego, the mayor of the capital Phoenix, said: “We were one of the last states to go to stay-at-home and one of the first to re-emerge. We had crowded nightclubs handing out free champagne, no masks. Our 20 to 44-year-olds, which is my own demographic, ­really led the explosion.”

On Saturday Donald Trump repeated his argument that “if we didn’t test so much and so successfully, we would have very few cases”.

Mr Trump accurately observed that “deaths and the all-important mortality rate” are declining. This is thought to be partly because more of the infections are affecting young people.

Tom Frieden, a former head of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, warned: “What starts in young adults will spread. Bars and restaurants, among other places, are driving transmission … no national strategy. Basic prevention activities neglected. We have months of risk, suffering, economic hardship and restrictions ahead.”

On Friday Kimberly Guilfoyle, 51, the girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr and one of the President’s most energetic fundraisers, tested positive for the virus.

Meanwhile, India overtook Russia to become the third worst-affected nation by the coronavirus after reporting 24,248 new cases on Monday.

India has confirmed 697,413 cases, including 19,693 deaths. Russia has 680,283 cases. The US has had the most cases, with nearly 2.9 million. Brazil is second, with over 1.6 million.

THE TIMES, AP