St Helens' pubs and restaurants to close at 10pm under new coronavirus measures

A range of tighter restrictions have been announced for St Helens, Merseyside, Warrington and Halton this morning, Friday.

Businesses operating in the hospitality sector - including bars, restaurants and cinemas, will be required to shut between 10pm and 5am in these areas.

There will be table service only in venues.

In another significant measure, people are being told not to socialise inside a home or private garden with others from outside their household or support bubble.

These measures will come into place on Tuesday, September 22.

New guidance also states that the use of public transport should be "for essential purposes only".

There should be no spectators at amateur or semi-professional sports fixtures.

In a statement Councillor David Baines, leader of St Helens Borough Council, said: “Our rate of infection has been increasing at an alarming rate in recent weeks.

"We do not want to find ourselves in a situation like we had in March where our NHS struggled to cope with the demand and far too many people lost loved ones to the virus.

“We therefore understand the need to introduce extra measures to help slow the spread of the virus, and we ask all residents and businesses to play their part in keeping each other safe.

"We know it is difficult as people have just started to enjoy more opportunities to see loved ones again but we have to pull together.

"We saw the remarkable community spirit that got us through the national lockdown and I’m sure that the people of this borough will do just that again.

"#StHelensTogether is still here to support those who need our help should they need to isolate or get help in any way.

“I must say that as a Council we are disappointed that we’ve had a week of rumour and speculation from government rather than clarity and engagement, and it’s not ideal that they have decided to announce these measures on a Friday but not introduce them until Tuesday."