REVELLERS in Leicester hit the pubs and bars for the first Friday night after the lockdown – but some may have been partying a bit too hard.
Pubs, bars and restaurants were allowed to reopen in the East Midlands city from Monday for the first time since March after local lockdown regulations were eased.
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Authorities though had warned locals to remain “responsible” and not to “throw away all the hard work”.
Pubs across England had been allowed to reopen on July 4 but Leicester was kept under a local lockdown after it saw a spike in coronavirus cases.
Leicester was put on lockdown when it had an infection rate of 135 per 100,000 people – in the week up to 1 August this had dropped to 57.4 per 100,000.
After the first Saturday back operating across the country police and the health secretary said people had largely acted responsibly, although the Police Federation said it was “crystal clear” drunk people were unable to keep to social distancing regulations.
Leicestershire Police said so far, most people have been following regulations.
But a spokesman added: “We must remember that coronavirus is still a serious risk to health.”
Paul Murphy, landlord of The King’s Head, said: “My advice to pub-goers is abide by the rules. If they do, we will still be here serving them in a month’s time.”
Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: “I would appeal to everyone to go out and have a good time, but also to stick to the rules and observe social distancing.
“People need to be sensible, and stay safe, or risk throwing away all the hard work we’ve achieved from lockdown.”
Leicester City Council had planned to open up its event control room in City Hall to monitor the situation on Friday and Saturday, something that would usually be done for large events.
