Britain’s once busy and bustling nightlife areas resembled ghost towns last night as businesses started to announce closure dates amid the coronavirus outbreak.
One trade body, UK Hospitality, has announced that people working in cafes, hotels and bars could lose their jobs by May if laws aren’t changed.
Main nightclub streets in Leeds and Birmingham were deserted last night as most revellers chose to stay home in a bid to avoid catching the Covid-19 coronavirus.
It comes as 798 people in the UK were confirmed to have the virus and 11 have died from it.
Britain’s once busy and bustling nightlife areas resembled ghost towns last night as businesses started to announce closure dates amid the coronavirus outbreak. Pictured is Broad Street in Birmingham
One trade body, UK Hospitality, has announced that those working in cafes, hotels and bars could lose their jobs by May if laws aren’t changed. Pictured is Broad Street in Birmingham
Main nightclub streets in Leeds and Birmingham were deserted last night as most revellers chose to stay home in a bid to avoid catching the Covid-19 coronavirus. Pictured are revellers out in a mostly-deserted Leeds city centre
Broad Street in Birmingham looked particularly deserted aside from a few small groups of party-goers who bucked the trend.
Leeds looked a bit more lively but was nothing in comparison to the vast numbers the clubs in the city centre usually draw in.
Some irritated nightclub-goers even took to Twitter to vent their frustrations about not going out due to the pandemic.
Broad Street in Birmingham (pictured) looked particularly deserted aside from a few small groups of party-goers who bucked the trend
Empty queues outside nightclubs all over London were seen last night due to coronavirus fears
Bouncers and a female promoter wait for customers outside Velvet nightclub on an almost empty Broad Street in Birmingham
Abbie Hignett said: ‘I just wish coronavirus would go away. I can’t even enjoy a night out anymore because I daren’t touch anything.’
Paul Monagle said: ‘Damn coronavirus, was looking forward to a good night out on Sunday.’
The lack of UK nightlife has come as it was revealed that hundreds of thousands of UK jobs could be axed within weeks because of the virus.
Airlines, hotels and restuarants say they will have no choice but to cull staff and reduce working hours.
Up to 50million jobs could be lost globally because of the pandemic, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.
Police officers watch on as the longest queue was observed outside Rosies nightclub with just 14 people waiting to get inside on an almost empty Broad Street in Birmingham
A group of girls buck the trend and decide to risk going out on an almost empty Broad Street in Birmingham
UK Hospitality boss Kate Nicholls asked the Government ‘to permit temporary staff redundancies where demand falls substantially – with Universal Credit covering wage costs,’ in a letter to Chancellor Rishi Sunak that was seen by the BBC.
She told the BBC: ‘So we are talking about intervention that is needed next week to make sure that in six to eight weeks these businesses continue to trade, and if we don’t get that support, by May, we will be facing business failures and a significant number of jobs at risk.’
Mr Sunak announced that business rates relief would be given to companies with a value of less than £51,000 – including shops, cinemas, restaurants and hotels.
Leeds (pictured) looked a bit more lively but was nothing in comparison to the vast numbers the clubs in the city centre usually draw in
These revellers chose not to take any risks with their night out and donned protective face masks as they walked deserted streets in Leeds
Two girls are seen walking down a nearly-empty street in Leeds after a huge dip in revellers
Some irritated nightclub-goers even took to Twitter to vent their frustrations about not going out due to the pandemic
However, Ms Nicholl said that since many of the biggest employers in the hospitality industry operate from the largest premises on the UK high street, they will not benefit from the new business rate support.
A Treasury spokesperson said: ‘On Wednesday, the chancellor announced, in total, a £30billion fiscal stimulus to support British people, jobs and businesses through this moment.
‘Because of our extension of business rate relief, including to the hospitality and leisure sectors, around 900,000 properties, 45% of those in England, won’t pay any business rates in 20/21.
‘HMRC will also help businesses and self-employed individuals experiencing temporary financial difficulties due to Covid-19.’
A shopper has spoken of their shock after spotting a person wearing a full hazmat suit at a Somerset Tesco store amid the ongoing spread of novel coronavirus COVID-19
The Government has not yet advised pubs or restaurants to close, and Chris Whitty, England’s Chief Medical Officer, has not advised people to stop going to pubs.
Emma McClarkin, Chief Executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, commented:
‘Pubs and their staff are adopting a common sense approach towards COVID-19 and we have provided detailed briefings to all our members including advice from Public Health England and the NHS.
‘We are monitoring the situation and official advice closely. Unless official advice changes, people can still go and enjoy the great British pub.
‘Of course, pubs do operate under tight margins and so any potential downturn is a real concern for the industry.’
However, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), infection is most likely at small gatherings.
According to The Guardian, the WHO’s David Nabarro said: ‘We are coming across stories where people, for example, have been sitting around a table in a restaurant or bar, where they are closer than two metres, spend quite a bit of time in each other’s company and the amount of time that passes is not clear. That appears to be the next commonest place where infections are taking place.
‘That is why restaurants, pubs and churches – churches in particular because of physical closeness – are of interest.’
Wetherspoons has reported that it is ‘business as usual’ despite fears of infection but the chain has put safety measures in place.
Spokesman Eddie Gershon told KentOnline: ‘We have communicated to our pub staff and customers that they need to wash their hands regularly.
‘Our pubs also have notices relating to people washing their hands. Contact points, including door handles, are being cleaned on a regular basis.’
Britain’s oldest brewer, Shepherd’s Neame, also hasn’t seen a ‘discernible change’ in customer behaviour.
People get swabbed at a drive-through coronavirus testing station set up near a branch of KFC in Wolverhampton. People who think they might have the virus have been told to avoid the city’s hospital
Chief executive Jonathan Neame, told KentOnline: ‘We have seen no discernible change in customer behaviour to date.
‘It is impossible at this stage to gauge the likely impact, but should there be significant restrictions on travel and the movement of people in the coming months, that would have an inevitable bearing on our business and our supply chain.
‘Over the longer term, the quality and profile of the company’s brands and pubs will stand us in good stead and form an excellent platform from which to grow. We are confident we are building an even stronger business for the future.’
Phil Clapp, the chief executive of the UK Cinema Association, which represents the majority of Britain’s cinema operators, said it had not issued any specific guidelines to members but was monitoring and following government advice.
However, a ‘seat separation’ policy, which means every second seat will be left unoccupied in a checkerboard pattern, was implemented by the Omniplex cinema chain.
London has already seen five restaurants close down due to coronavirus fears: Black Axe Mangal in Highbury, Deliciously Ella in Mayfair, Jinli in Chinatown, Joy King Lau in Chinatown and BaoziInn Chinatown 2 in Chinatown.
Due to a lack of air travel, British Airways is reportedly fighting for survival.
Alex Cruz, the boss of British Airways, said his airline was fighting for its survival, job cuts were inevitable and the situation was more serious than 9/11.
He told staff in a memo: ‘We are suspending routes and will be parking aircraft in a way that we have never had to do before. Please do not underestimate the seriousness of this for our company.’
Half a million seasonal jobs in holiday parks, hotels and tourist areas have already been ‘frozen’, and ‘hundreds of thousands’ more are at risk due to a coronavirus cash crunch for UK bars, cafes and restaurants.
Alistair Darling, who was chancellor during the 2008 financial crisis, said the Government must consider massive bailouts for airlines and other firms hit by the virus.
The former Labour minister told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘As this intensifies, as it carries on, and I wouldn’t criticise the Chancellor for doing this, he will need to go back to the House of Commons – I had to do it several times during the financial crisis – they must do whatever it takes to keep the economy going.’
Asked if that included 2008 bank-style bailouts for companies and industries which in the weeks ahead could face financial difficulty, for example airlines, Lord Darling said: ‘I think they shouldn’t close the door to anything at the moment.
‘The Bank of England has, for example, made considerable funds available to be disbursed through the banking system to provide loans to companies, particularly small and medium sized enterprises.
‘But the government does have to have an eye on as we come through this, and we will, at some stage we will recover, we need to make sure we have still got the basic economic infrastructure that will work.’
Dozens of airlines have cancelled flights as travel restrictions continue to tighten and worried holidaymakers choose to stay at home.
Low-cost airline Norwegian Air has cancelled more than 4,000 flights and said it plans to lay off up to half its staff.
Easyjet and Ryanair have cancelled hundreds of flights, while Virgin Atlantic has admitted some of its planes are ‘almost empty’.
Alistair Darling, who was chancellor during the 2008 financial crisis, said the Government must consider massive bailouts for airlines and other firms hit by the virus
Alex Cruz, BA boss, said his airline was fighting for its survival, job cuts were inevitable and the situation was more serious than 9/11
In the UK, unions warned a swathe of airlines were preparing to announce job cuts.
Tim Morris, a civil air transport secretary for Unite, said: ‘The aviation industry was in crisis even without coronavirus. This is a perfect storm for our members.’
Yesterday the European Union condemned US President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend all travel from the Schengen area of Europe for 30 days.
People at risk of losing their jobs flooded social media to lament their vulnerable work situations
Insurers Aviva, Direct Line and Churchill suspended the sale of travel insurance to new customers, and Axa said new policies will not cover disruption caused by the virus.
The impact of coronavirus is already placing the hospitality sector, which employs 3.2million people, under serious strain.
The government’s battle plan has been divided into four stages – ‘Contain’, ‘delay’, ‘research’ and ‘mitigate’
Hotels are just a third full and sales in city centre bars and restaurants are down by a half, said Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UK Hospitality.
She added: ‘This is a question of survival for hospitality businesses. In two months they will run out of cash, putting hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk.’
High streets are braced for a collapse in the number of shoppers, with new figures yesterday showing footfall has fallen by a tenth in some spots.
Hays Travel, which bought 550 Thomas Cook stores in January, has asked staff to take unpaid leave. The pandemic could also deal a ‘hammer blow’ to the UK recording industry and ‘threaten the livelihoods of many people’, UK Music said.
BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend, due to take place in Dundee in late May, was cancelled and The Who, Madonna and Miley Cyrus have all abandoned live dates.
Cineworld said a widespread drop in demand could force it out of business in an update to the market this week.
Theatregoers cancelled bookings to shows across the country, as playhouses prepared for a change in Government advice that would see thousands of performances cancelled. The widespread uncertainty is also likely to hit the housing market.
A reporter for The Times detailed how she was trying to dissuade her chef flatmate, who had been ill, from going into work
Bosses lined up to criticise Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s first Budget for not doing enough to protect businesses from going bust.
Jonathan Downey, founder of London Union, which operates food and drink markets in London, said: ‘We need the Government to do something drastic if businesses are to survive and jobs be saved.
‘Not even the best businesses can survive this level of catastrophic collapse and the Government needs to act now.’
Germany has pledged a big ‘bazooka’ of unlimited cash loans to business hit by coronavirus.
The UK Government has promised to guarantee £1billion of loans. In a sign of the severity of the crisis for the aviation industry, America’s Delta Airlines said it was in bailout talks with the White House.
Workers left in the lurch took to Twitter to announce they had lost their jobs due to the outbreak.
One woman from Scotland had been set to start a new job as an air steward with EasyJet but was informed her employment had been withdrawn.
‘I was meant to start my new job as Easyjet Cabin Crew on Monday but I’ve just been told my employment has been withdrawn due tot he corona virus,’ she wrote.
‘Does anyone know of any jobs in West Lothian, Edinburgh or Fife?’
A reporter for The Times detailed how she was trying to dissuade her chef flatmate, who had been ill, from going into work. ‘My flatmates have all been ill, and under new gov advice will have to stay home.
‘One is feeling better and I’m trying to dissuade her from going back to work as a chef tomorrow. The catch? £18 a day sick pay if she stays home. Not enough to live on in London,’ she said.
Another person said she was ‘officially panicking’ following the announcement of job cuts by British Airways.
A zero-hour contractor took to Twitter to announce they had been left ‘essentially unemployed’ after their work closed indefinitely.
Another commented: ‘Coronavirus and self employment where it’s your only source of income don’t mix well.’
One woman said the virus’s impact on wineries and the tourism industries has ‘crushed’ any income she was going to make this month ‘and possibly next month’, alongside the hashtag ‘#cantaffordthis’.
Heathrow saw a 4.8 per cent year-on-year decline in passenger numbers in February due to coronavirus, raising more concerns over job losses.
And in the UK alone there are fears an estimated 1.5million self-employed and gig economy workers could face financial ruin because of the deadly disease.
Some delivering food, parcels or working in cafes, restaurants may avoid self-isolating if they have coronavirus symptoms because they fear going unpaid, unions have warned.
Some delivering food, parcels or working in cafes, restaurants may avoid self-isolating if they have coronavirus symptoms because they fear going unpaid, unions have warned
People on zero-hours contracts and other casual workers risk losing income and missing out on sick pay if they stay at home for the recommended two-week period.
More than 4.7million people – or one in ten working-age adults – work in the gig economy, according to research published by the Trade Union Congress.
And Citizen’s Advice say that 1.5million of them – around one in three – don’t qualify for sick pay.
It came as ministers warned that coronavirus could push more people into poverty unless the UK and Scottish governments protect low earners
The GMB union revealed the case of a delivery driver who was forced to stay off work, unpaid, after coming in to contact with a customer considered to be high-risk.