"Reasonable people" or "drunkards" who have trouble controlling themselves? The reopening of English pubs, after more than three months of confinement, led to overflows and "dangerous" situations on the night of Saturday to Sunday, raising fears of a return of the epidemic of new coronavirus. "The crowd started arriving (Saturday) around 1:00 pm and quickly everything got out of control," says Rafal Liszewski, manager of a boutique in one of the busiest streets in London's Soho.
"Around 8:00 to 9:00 pm, it was a real street party, with people dancing and drinking," said the 36-year-old woman to the British agency PA, adding that "nobody wore a mask" and that 'it was' physically impossible' to respect social distancing. Like hotels, hair salons, cinemas and museums, pubs reopened in England on Saturday after more than three months of closure to limit the spread of the epidemic. More reluctant, the other British provinces have adopted their own deconfinement calendar, pubs in Wales and Scotland to partially reopen in ten days.
A long-awaited moment
Massively awaited by English people very attached to their pubs, this "Super Saturday" had raised concerns, the police expecting an activity as important as on New Year's Day. Prime Minister Boris Johnson recalled that it is "absolutely vital that everyone abides by the rules on social distancing", while the United Kingdom is the country most affected by the epidemic in Europe, with more 44,000 dead.
Sunday morning, however, many photos of Britons, happily alcoholic and careless about health instructions, flooded social networks and newspapers. An image taken by an AFP photographer on a street in Soho shows people falling on top of each other. "It was crystal clear that tipsy people could not and would not maintain social distancing," John Apter, president of the Police Federation, denounced in a tweet. On duty Saturday night in Southampton (south), the police officer says that he spent his evening managing "naked men, happy drunkards, angry drunkards, battles and even more angry drunkards".
Health Minister not so worried
Several pubs have had to close their doors in the face of an unexpected influx of people, such as the "Red Lion" in Rotherham (central England). The establishment explains on Facebook that it had to call the police because it quickly found itself "literally inundated with dozens and dozens" of unusual consumers after the police closed other pubs around, a situation " dangerous ”. Asked about Sky News on Sunday, Health Minister Matt Hancock said, "From what I have seen, and even if there are pictures to the contrary, people have acted very responsibly. . "
According to forecasts from the CEBR think-tank, the reopening of pubs was expected to attract some 6.5 million visitors this weekend and generate 210 million pounds (233 million euros).
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