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Liverpool’s mayor says photos of people partying on the street have “embarrassed” the city.
Joe Anderson posted on Twitter: “These images put our city to shame, attacking our brave police officers is unacceptable.
“Our health service is screeching, 300 in the hospital and 30 people dead in the week. Ignoring these facts is the reason why we are in Level 3.”
Follow images of crowds ignoring social distancing and dancing in Concert Square last night, one of the city’s busiest nightlife spots, before the city enters Level 3 restrictions today.
The “big crowd” had to be dispersed after the pubs closed at 10pm last night, two hours before the tough new coronavirus restrictions were imposed at midnight.
A video posted on Snapchat showing the crowds last night was captioned: “Herd immunity, here we go.”
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In another part of the footage, apparently filmed from a nearby apartment, a police car could be seen driving through a crowd as revelers slapped their hands on the side of the vehicle.
Few appeared to be wearing masks or following social distancing measures.
In a statement, Merseyside police told Sky News that a large crowd dispersed quickly and safely, and officers were removed after all businesses in the area managed to close.
“While we understand how the new rules being implemented today are frustrating for some, we would continue to advise everyone to adhere to them, including maintaining social distancing, for the safety of all,” said Chief Superintendent Peter Costello.
According to the Liverpool Echo, a police car was attacked in Concert Square, with one witness claiming that “a large group of young people attending the party defied every imaginable social distancing rule.”
Downtown Councilor Nick Small wrote on Twitter: “Idiots put themselves, their friends, their families and everyone else at risk, destroying jobs and our hospitality industry as they do so.”
Starting Wednesday, Liverpool and the five neighboring districts that make up the city region will be under Level 3 coronavirus measures, including closing bars, non-food pubs, gyms, betting shops and casinos.
Residents are also prohibited from socializing with other households indoors and outdoors, even in private gardens.
A heatmap on Snapchat shows that there was a lot of activity in Concert Square
Liverpool recorded 3,164 new COVID-19 cases in the seven days to October 10, the equivalent of 635.3 cases per 100,000 people. This compares to 555 in the seven days through October 3.
It has the third highest number of hospital admissions for COVID-19 patients in Europe, and more than 95% of the city’s intensive care beds are currently occupied.
Intensive care doctors working in the city told Sky’s Inzamam Rashid that they are “upset” by what happened, and one of them said: “They don’t care that people are dying from this disease, it is heartbreaking to see it. “.
Another doctor told Sky News: “We have limited capacity in our ITUs across the network, but more worryingly, we have people in the hallways in carts waiting for beds.
“We are operating at 100% capacity. Our Emergency Departments are overcrowded. Social distancing is not possible.
“I’m afraid we’re headed for disaster. So you see the crowds behaving that way. I’m really devastated and disgusted.”
The Secretary for Work and Pensions, Therese Coffey, told Kay Burley that the scenes were “irresponsible and really disappointing.”
“It is meetings like that which, unfortunately, do not help in any way to reduce the escalation of the virus.”
Currently, the Liverpool city region is the only area that falls under the “very high” alert level, but Sky News understands that a meeting of the “golden command” will be held to decide whether the Greater Manchester and Lancashire vicinity should also fall into this category.
