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Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson said his council will shut down businesses that don’t follow coronavirus safety measures.
The city leader spoke after Liverpool and the entire Merseyside region were placed on a government covid-19 watch list.
The move comes after a rapid increase in infections across districts, with Liverpool and Wirral being the worst hit.
Being on the watch list means that the region is now being closely monitored by the central government and has come close to having potential restrictions as we have seen in places like Leicester and Bolton.
Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson said he and other leaders will now have to report back to the government on actions being taken to prevent cases from increasing further and to prevent further lockdown measures from being applied.
Mayor Anderson said he has become increasingly concerned about the city’s shops, pubs, restaurants and other businesses not following key security measures in recent weeks.
He said that now, with the city on the brink of a possible closure, his council will take “very serious action” against companies that are deemed not to be in compliance, including closure.
Mayor Anderson said: “We are now being monitored and could be close to local closure measures.
“We will take very serious action against any company that is not complying with coronavirus security measures, as we do everything we can to avoid further restrictions.
“If we receive evidence that the rules are not being applied, then we have the power to force companies to close.
“This is zero tolerance now, we have to inform the government and very soon they could be affected by new blockade measures, so we will do everything possible to avoid it.”
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He said he has heard evidence of too many businesses in the city not following safety rules.
He added: “We have heard that pubs and restaurants do not perform track and trace measures correctly, there are also too many stores that allow people in without covering their faces.”
“We are going to take action against these businesses now because the alternative is to see the entire city locked up.”
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