Furious locals left with cancelled holidays & lost pub trade in Indian strain hotspot & tell Boris: ‘Make up your mind!’
FURIOUS locals in one Indian variant hotspot have revealed their holidays have been cancelled as pub trade takes a beating in the local lockdown chaos.
Twenty-four hours of turmoil raged after it was revealed last night the Government had quietly changed its online guidance to warn against travelling to eight areas where the Indian variant is rife.
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Locals in North Tyneside said they were “fed up” with the Government’s “wishy washy” new rules, designed to stop the spread of the Indian strain.
The rules apply to Bedford, Blackburn, Bolton, Burley, Kirklees, Leicester, Hounslow and North Tyneside.
People in those areas have been told to only meet outside and stay two metres apart.
And ministers are warning people not to enter or leave these areas “unless it is essential” in the local lockdowns.
The change in the rules effectively partially scraps the latest round of unlocking for people in the hotspots.
And it means anyone who might have planned to visit friends, family or even just have a staycation in these areas will need to have a sudden rethink.
Thomas Perry, an engineer for the Royal Mail from North Shields, told The Sun Online: “I’m a lot more fed up about it now.
“It just seems that it’s a bit wishy washy from the Government.”
Meanwhile, Leigh Bond, who runs Love Leigh’s furniture store in North Tyneside, said she’s already seen a decrease in footfall to her shop.
“It’s very frustrating,” she said.
“I’ve certainly been a lot quieter this week and the mixed messages are just ridiculous.
“It needs clarity. There was a big thing made about the Indian variant on Monday but it wasn’t mentioned at all about these reactions.”
Ministers are warning people to “minimise travel” in and out of the hotspot areas after a change in advice this evening.
However, this lunchtime Downing Street admitted people were still allowed to go on green list holidays – despite the advice saying people should only go if its “essential”.
The advice boils down to – you can go, but you shouldn’t.
It essentially means hotspot locals can go on holiday – but can’t hug their gran at home.
Lewis Hill, a 22-year-old sales and marketing worker said: “It seems so uncertain, the Government seem to change their minds every other week.
“I think this news is going to be bad for everyone because money is hard to come by at the best of times but for businesses around here who need custom, it’s bad news.”
Gurjeet Singh, who runs the New Bella Rose florist shop in North Tyneside said: “There has been less passing trade and less people are coming into the shop.
“We’re just desperate for more people to come to town because we mostly rely on that passing trade.”
It comes after incensed local MPs today railed against Westminster for imposing “local locdown lite through the backdoor”.
But during a press conference today Bolton Council leader David Greenhalgh categorically said there were no regional restrictions.
He said: “After a series of calls with senior officials from the Government, PHE and NHS we are in a position to say with assurance there is no added restrictions coming to Bolton. There is no local lockdown.”
He insisted people should “just behave sensibly” and don’t need to cancel their holidays.
Officials in Leicester council also weighed in to urge residents to ignore the advice.
A council statement said: “We don’t have any evidence as to why people or businesses in Leicester should not continue to follow the existing national guidance.”
And North Tyneside’s director of public health Wendy Burke said: “We have met with national officials and confirmed there are no restrictions on travel in or out of North Tyneside. There are no local lockdowns.”
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has told people to exercise their own judgement and hit out at a massive “communications error”.
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He fumed today: “Schools are confused about whether trips can happen, amateur sport has been thrown into chaos, people also have plans for the bank holiday.”
The Labour big beast demanded a minister issue an urgent statement today clarifying the situation.
He also vowed to fight any future local lockdowns, with Mr Greenhalgh warning of public unrest if they were ever revived in the future.