The Press Stories
One last blowpipe. Manchester is completely crowded.
Millions of people in major cities and towns in the north of the UK will know they will face stricter, tougher restrictions early next week – which is why they are taking full advantage this weekend.
In Manchester, a current Corona virus A hotspot and a university town for tens of thousands of students, it is incredibly busy until 10pm curfew orders.
Bars, restaurants and Shisha cafes are packed to the brim.
It’s clear that people want the last rush before they get off before it feels like a second lock.
Pubs and restaurants will face stricter restrictions as a bar worker removes chairs in Manchester
In downtown, pubs and bars were at full capacity on Friday evenings – it was not possible to book at a restaurant.
Shisha cafes on the nicknamed Bad Curry Mile for a section of Wilmslow Road in south Manchester were as busy as the Eid holidays.
Businesses here are thriving, but come in at 10pm, the house lights are on, the music is off and people are being evicted from places like sheep.
Two drinkers were spotted at a Manchester pub on Friday as the city faces stricter restrictions
But “Where are we going now?” You ask questions like. “What do we do next?”
People walk the streets without trying to decide their next move, after all a Friday, night is still young.
At Curry Mile, the traffic was bumpy as hundreds of cars drove by at once.
A group of women told us: “We had to do this tonight, otherwise we would not see each other for weeks.”
Someone who left a dessert parlor told us: “Everyone knows these places will be completely closed next week, so this weekend will be bananas.”
Locations have activities, QR check-in codes are everywhere, but people don’t really seem to care about the virus.
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Social distance is very non-existent and very few people wear masks inside and outside these places.
“I don’t care as much as I did the first time, I don’t need to be,” someone told us.
While some businesses lose the routine due to the 10pm curfew order, many are still incredibly happy because it’s too busy – they also want to get that much money before it closes completely, who knows how long?
It’s hard to blame anyone here, what people are doing is not illegal, they are not breaking the rules by going out with food, drinks and shisha – but while all this is going on the virus is spreading across the UK, especially in Manchester, which is re-hospitalizing people.
That is the concern here, and it is one of the main reasons why the government should take action next week.
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