LONDON (UK) – UK Health Minister Matt Hancock said on Sunday that people broadly behaved responsibly as pubs reopened in England after remaining closed for more than three months.
Pubs, restaurants and bars in England witnessed the flow of thousands of patrons when they reopened on Saturday.
Aiming to restore consumer spending in order to boost the sagging economy hit by the pandemic crisis, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government has been easing curbs and the lastest is the lifting of restrictions in the hospitality sector. He urged people to “enjoy summer safely” to avoid a second wave of the infection.
“From what I’ve seen, although there’s some pictures to the contrary, very very largely people have acted responsibly,” Matt Hancock told Sky News.
“Overall, I’m pleased with what happened yesterday. It was really good to see people out and about, and largely socially distancing.”
The prime minister and Prince Charles paid tribute to Britain’s National Health Service, 72 years after it was founded, for its heroic sacrifices in fighting coronavirus.
Chief executive of NHS England Simon Stevens thanked the public for their support as well as their responsible behaviour on Saturday.
“Pleasingly, we did not see last night the kind of scenes people feared (there) might be” he told the BBC.
“The foolish few, but the sensible majority, I think is the story across the country, and long may that continue.”
The easing of curbs is only applicable in England as the other devolved nations in the UK are charting their own schedule to ease restrictions. Wales and Scotland are slated to ease curbs slowly.
The government said that rather than implementing a national lockdown, it would go for local curbs like the one introduced in Leicester last week.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field