The streets of Britain’s popular city centres remain empty as the nation heeds its Government’s warnings to stay inside and keep away from others.
As the UK coronavirus death toll reached 233, with 5,018 people infected, pubs, clubs, restaurants and other social venues have shut their doors to customers in order to stave off the deadly infection.
The eerily empty streets of Nottingham, Birmingham and Bristol paint an unfamiliar picture of the country – with pictures showing formerly major hubs of social activity abandoned in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Thousands of revellers had ignored the government’s advice on social distancing on Friday as they met with friends for a merry night despite the increasing seriousness of the challenge facing out country.
The Prime Minister has now ordered social venues to close their doors, taking away what he called the ‘ancient inalienable right of freeborn people of the United Kingdom to go to the pub’.
Britons are now entering a more severe state of social lockdown, with empty streets on Saturday night one if its effects.
Deserted: An empty Broad Street in Birmingham is pictured after the Government order to close all pubs and restaurants
The streets of Nottingham are seen here completely empty last night, with pubs, bars and nightclubs being told to close
Bristol City Centre was unusually empty on Saturday night after all pubs and clubs were ordered to shut by the government
The number of coronavirus cases in the UK has now surpassed 5,000 as the country faces going into lockdown over the issue
Pub-goers enjoying themselves in Newcastle’s densely populated student area on Friday night after the PM announced that pubs would be closed to shutter the nation’s boozers to stem the spread of coronavirus
Bleak streets and empty pubs are just one facet of the new Britain.
Queues form outside the nation’s supermarkets where shoppers face empty shelves and mask-clad staff, who are forced to strictly ration supplies to stave off the selfish few who would hoard essential supplies all to themselves, paying no mind to the elderly, vulnerable, and key workers who might have to go without.
But selfishness has not yet gripped the hearts of the whole nation.
Yesterday Boris Johnson, who ordered a 14-day closure of public social centres like pubs and gyms, replied to a seven-year-old girl who told how she cancelled her birthday party twice due to the viral outbreak.
The Prime Minister wrote back to Josephine, from Hampshire, saying he was ‘glad to hear you are staying at home, though I am sorry to hear abut your party’ amid fears of Covid-19.
Mr Johnson told the little girl: ‘We have all got to do our bit to protect the NHS and save lives, and that is exactly what you are doing, so well done! You are setting a great example.
‘We are working round the clock to keep people safe, and if we work together we can send coronavirus packing. And once we have done that you can DEFINITELY have a party with your friends!’
The PM, who is expecting a baby with fiance Carrie Symonds, added: ‘In answer to your question – I’m regularly washing my hands with soap and water for 20 seconds: the time it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice!’
Revolution: A club in Bristol City Centre is seen abandoned as Britain tackles the coronavirus threat – which has claimed 233 lives so far in Britain
Cafes, clubs and restaurants remain closed in Birmingham’s Broad Street as Britons do what they can to cope with Covid-19
A pub in Bristol City Centre is seen closed down on Saturday night – typically a time for celebration and meeting with friends
Empty Broad Street in Birmingham after Government order to close all pubs and restaurants after Coronavirus outbreak
Many high street stores have closed this weekend, even though they could remain open, as Britons are spooked into voluntary self-isolation, remote work, and social distancing amid Covid-19 paranoia.
London – one of the world’s biggest capital cities, with a population of nine million – is not its usual self as residents steer clear of the city centre, including Waterloo Station, Oxford Street, and Leicester Square.
Shopping malls up and down the country – from Leicester and Windsor to Southampton and Cardiff – are shadows of their busy former selves, while TK Maxx stores across the UK closed.
City Hall and Transport for London have reduced Underground services across all Tube lines, storing trains which are no longer in use in the east. The move follows days of criticism from commuters fearful of overcrowding on the train carriages after many people continued to go into the office for work.
The scenes of eerie desertion come as YouGov revealed nearly 75 percent of people they polled admit to having changed their behaviour in response to Government guidance on coronavirus.
Commissioned by Imperial College London’s Patient Experience Research Centre, almost half believe they will become infected, while 93 percent said they took at least one protective measure.