8 2GM Thursday October 15 2020 | the times
News
of Bolton council, has opposed the
measure and denied that he backed it
after he was named among supporters
in the Commons by Sir Keir.
A paper by the Scientific Advisory
Group for Emergencies (Sage), ob-
tained by The Times, shows that a two-
week lockdown, with stay-at-home or-
ders and school closures, from October
24 could reduce deaths for the rest of
the year from about 19,900 to 12,100.Mr Burnham later said he was ex-
pecting a meeting with Boris Johnson’s
team today to discuss the latest restric-
tions. He tweeted: “We’ve just conclud-
ed a briefing with the deputy chief med-
ical officer. We are expecting a further
meeting with the PM’s team.”
Geoff Driver, the Conservative
leader of Lancashire county council,
said it was inevitable that the county
would follow Liverpool into Tier 3. “It’sAndy Burnham said
a national lockdown
for two weeks
would be fairer
News Coronavirus
Civic leaders in Manchester have
joined calls for a temporary national
“circuit-breaker” lockdown as they
hold out against pressure to adopt
severe local restrictions.
Andy Burnham, the Labour mayor of
Greater Manchester, is leading opposi-
tion to the region joining Liverpool in
the most severe Tier 3 category.
He issued a joint statement with
other leaders in Greater Manchester,
saying that the national shutdown for
two to three weeks being backed by Sir
Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, would
be a preferable option.
Last night the Joint Biosecurity
Centre, which advises the government,
was said to have signed off on Tier 3
restrictions for Greater Manchester
and Lancashire. A final decision is ex-
pected from Downing Street today.
Commenting on a Sky News tweet
announcing the move, Mr Burnham
said: “At no point during tonight’s brief-
ing was this news communicat-
ed to us. Media was told first
once again. Our position has
not changed.”
Earlier, in a press confer-
ence with Steve Rotheram,
metro mayor of the Liverpool
region, Mr Burnham said
that “there are two routes
ahead of us” — a regional or a
national route. “My great fear
is we’re going to see a position
where areas, one by one, are
going to have pressure piled
upon them to go into Tier 3,
because that’s an easier op-
tion for the government,” he
said. “It puts all the pressure
on local leaders without the
support. I think a winter
where most of the north is
trapped in Tier 3 is going to be
very serious.” A circuit-
breaker lockdown “would be
a fairer way of keeping the
country together”.
David Greenhalgh, the leaderManchester wants national rules to
really a question of when and how, and
we’re working with government trying
to put together a package of measures
that will mitigate the inevitable impact
on that particular sector of the eco-
nomy,” he said.
Mr Johnson is banking on persuad-
ing other areas to accept Tier 3 restric-
tions in the coming days to hold off
pressure for a national shutdown.
Sir Keir said that the so-called circuit
breaker, recommended by Sage, was
the best hope of bringing the virus
under control.
The Welsh government was “prepar-
ing for” a circuit-breaker lockdown,
Mark Drakeford, the first minister, said.
Mr Rotheram said this should be a
time to “set aside party political ma-
noeuvrings”, adding: “Unfortunately, I
get the sense that government are do-
ing things which divide our communi-
ties instead of standing by them.”
Mr Johnson has praised Liverpool’s
civic leaders for accepting the closure of
some hospitality venues as he pressed
other virus hotspots to follow suit.
Footage on social media showed
crowds of people dancing in the street
in Liverpool after bars shut indefinitely
on Tuesday. Some banged their hands
on a police vehicle in one video.
Joe Anderson, the mayor of Liver-
pool, said: “Attacking our brave police
officers is unacceptable. Our health
service is creaking, 300 in hospital and
30 people dead in week.”
Leaders in Liverpool have pointed
out that it was the government that put
the city in Tier 3, but they have faced a
backlash from residents, particularly
business owners affected by closures.
Mr Anderson said: “Blaming the
leaders is just ridiculous. The fact is that
it’s the increase in infections that has
put us in Tier 3, and it’s the government
who decided to put us in Tier 3.”Francis Elliott Political Editor
After scenes emerged on Tuesday
night of crowds partying in
Liverpool, the picture could not have
been more different in Concert
Square yesterday morning.
Even bars in the area that stayed
open to serve food were quiet, with
tough messaging over the hospital
crisis appearing to have hit home.
There was still confusion in the
city, however, the first area to enter
Tier 3 lockdown restrictions.
Matthew Ball, 34, the manager of
Butter, a new café and bar, admitted
that it would be difficult to police the
new rules, which include what
constitutes a “substantial” meal.
“At the moment we’re only open
to 6pm but plan to open until
10pm next week,” he said.
“People have said we must bemad to open up in the middle of a
pandemic but I believe we can be a
bit more flexible.
“We’ve done well with masks and
social distancing but the new rules
will be trickier. A ‘substantial’ plate
can be a very subjective thing and
how do we ensure people come here
to eat and drink?”
He said that they had discussed
introducing a minimum spend on
food or giving people allocated time
slots. “Otherwise, some people
would just finish their plate of food
and carry on drinking,” he said.
Conor Foley, who runs two
independent pubs in the area, said
that earlier this week he had not
known whether either, all or none of
his premises would have to close.
One, The Dispensary, which
serves mostly drinks, has closed but
Dockleaf, which focuses on food, will
stay open. To ensure that people
drink only while also eating,
alcoholic beverages can be
purchased only after a food order
has been made.
Bar staff have been moved into the
kitchens to cope with extra food
orders. “We’ll be looking for
everyone to order off the full menu,”
Mr Foley said. It will be challenging,however, to tell adults what to have
for lunch.
Elsewhere, there were emotional
moments as several establishments
closed. Regulars at the Bridewell
pub, owned by Dominic and Fiona
Hornsby, joined in for a chorus of
“three cheers”. A video posted on
social media later showed the couple
hugging in their empty pub.
John Hughes, 54, the chairman of
Liverpool Pubwatch, has worked in
the city’s night economy for more
than 30 years. “People come to
Liverpool to enjoy the nightlife and
the culture,” he said. “Closing pubs
and bars will have a knock-on effect.
“I don’t want to have a go at young
people but Liverpool has a big
student population, so it’s not
surprising infection rates have gone
up since they returned.”
Students have said, however, that
they are being unfairly blamed.
“Most students I know have been
very careful and avoided too much
social mixing,” Victoria Williams, 19,
said as she walked near the square.
“But there’s only so much you can
do and many still want to go out and
enjoy themselves. It’s not fair to just
blame students and young people for
the rise in infections.”Liverpool
wakes up to
new reality
Charlotte Wace
D
Liverpool pub
owner Dominic
Hornsby calls
for last orders
after revellers
enjoyed a final
night out