Brits from northern cities arrive in town one last time before Boris Johnson closes pubs on Monday.

BOOZY Brits from northern cities have arrived in town tonight for the last time before Boris Johnson closes pubs on Monday.

Gamblers were envisioned getting the final rounds before the Prime Minister introduced a three-tier lockdown system that will cause hospitality venues to close in virus hot spots.

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Boris will announce the dramatic new restrictions Monday in the House of Commons, plunging ten million Northerners back into lockdown.

All bars and restaurants in Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle are expected to close as part of the crackdown, while overnight stays are banned.

It comes as huge swaths of the north have seen their infection rate rise in recent weeks, meaning they will be placed in the ‘third tier’ of the government’s new simplified lockdown system.

Partygoers were photographed flocking to city centers in the Midlands and the North tonight before the impending closure, despite a strict 10pm curfew across the country.

The images show the center of Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester and Nottingham packed with large groups of punters pouring out of the bars into the streets.

Nottingham has the highest infection rate in England, with 760.6 cases per 100,000 people, a huge jump from 158.3 per 100,000 in the seven days to September 29.

Knowsley has the second highest rate, which has gone from 391.1 to 657.6 per 100,000, while Liverpool is in third place, where the rate has also risen dramatically, from 419.0 to 599.9.

Northern leaders have begged the prime minister not to go ahead with the shutdown, claiming the restrictions are “starting to work.”

Scotland has already ordered pubs and restaurants in the central belt for 16 days after a sharp increase in cases.

In other parts of the country, pubs can only stay open until 6pm inside, but they cannot serve alcohol.

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The decision to close bars in the north comes amid a surge in coronavirus infections.

A major study has revealed that Covid infections are doubling every fortnight in the Midlands and Yorkshire, twice as fast as in the rest of England.

There are currently 45,000 new cases every day across the country, according to experts at Imperial College London.

Today the UK recorded 15,166 new cases and deaths increased by 81.

Infections have nearly tripled in two weeks, with a total of 590,844 people testing positive for the killer virus.

And worrying new figures show an increase in hospitalizations with figures showing that there were 3,225 Covid-19 patients in hospitals in England as of Saturday, up from 2,194 a week ago.

The Prime Minister hopes that the new three-tier system will simplify the current patchwork of measures, which local leaders have described as confusing.

Areas with a low infection rate will be placed at ‘Tier 1’, where only national restrictions such as the Rule of Six and the 10pm curfew will apply at hospitality venues.

Regions at ‘Level Two’ will see a ban on home visiting and indoor socializing with other households.

And ‘Level Three’ will see the most serious measures, including a total closure of the hospitality sector and a ban on overnight stays away from home.

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It comes as parliamentarians and local leaders in the north have lashed out at the prime minister over the prospect of further restrictions.

The ministers have been accused of using data from just 98 pubs to justify the closure of tens of thousands of stores in these regions.

A deputy claimed that the government has “improvised” statistics to close bars and restaurants, endangering the jobs of thousands.

Earlier this week, Professor Whitty briefed a cross-section of 149 MPs representing the North and Midlands.

But they claimed they were shown “nonsensical” and highly selective figures to demonstrate “retrospectively” the need for closures, Telegraph reports.

Closed hotel establishments in these regions will have two-thirds of their salaries paid by the government as part of a new Treasury support scheme.

Businesses forced to close their doors will also be able to claim crash grants of £ 3,000 a month, payable bi-weekly, marking an increase from the previous maximum of £ 1,500 every three weeks.

But mayors in northern England said the new measures did not appear to go “far enough” to avoid “real hardship, job losses and business failures this winter.”

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