British citizens defy lockdown restrictions as country battles deadly coronavirus

MANCHESTER: Prime Minister Boris Johnson put Britain under lockdown on March 23, in a bid to curb the widespread outbreak of the deadly coronavirus, which has so far killed 7,097 patients in the UK.

There is a high possibility that the lockdown will be extended as Britain recorded its highest death toll of 938 in a single day on Wednesday.

So far, the total confirmed cases in the UK as of 9am on Wednesday are 60,733.

Geo News conducted an online search across four major cities in the country with respect to the restrictions imposed and how strictly these were followed by people.

Manchester

According to Greater Manchester Police, there were 1,132 coronavirus-related breaches reported between Saturday and Tuesday. These included 494 house parties — some with DJs, fireworks and bouncing castles — and 166 street parties.

One woman in Bury became the first person in Greater Manchester to be charged under the Coronavirus Act, 2020, after police had to shut down one of the parties.

The force also had to deal with 122 different groups gathering to play sports, 173 more gatherings in parks and 112 incidents of anti-social behaviour and public disorder.

Police in Oldham dispersed a group of around 100 youths in the Glodwick area on Monday after reports of wide spread disturbance caused by people ignoring the government's social distancing advice.

Chief Constable of GMP (Greater Manchester Police) Hopkins said: "We understand the desire people will have to spend time with family and friends over the Easter period, however, it is vital that we follow the government guidelines. The single most important action we can take in fighting coronavirus is to stay at home in order to save lives."

London

There are no official figures from the police force on number of breaches since the lockdown was imposed however there are number of incidents where citizens ignored lockdown restrictions in the capital city.

A widely shared video on Social media of 20-30 men gathered to play cricket in a London park was an example of people not taking coronavirus serious.

In Another incident, Police were forced to break up an 18th birthday attended by 25 guests who flouted the social distancing guidelines. Brockwell Park was forced to shut down after 3,000 people descended on the green space.

"We still cannot believe what we found in the park yesterday... These people clearly don't care about the NHS, but will be the first to complain about our great NHS staff when they end up in hospital with corona virus,” they later tweeted.It comes as police and MPs have urged people to continue to stay at home despite a recent spell of warmer, dry weather.

Birmingham

Birmingham which has the highest number of coronavirus cases outside of London have also failed to comply with Government Guidelines. Number of cases surfaced online where people have defied lockdown restrictions.

Member of Parliament Tahir Ali had to apologise after he attended a group of up-to 100 mourners in Birmingham cemetery for funeral. Birmingham city has a strict guideline in place for funerals which states not more than six people should attend a funeral.

WestMidlands Police officers had to intervene after they found a group of 20 people ignoring the lockdown and tucking into a BBQ.

Scotland

Scotland police have issued 144 fixed penalties notices to people breaking new coronavirus restrictions in the last week.

Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said, "overwhelming majority" of people were complying with social distancing rules.

But in one case six fines were issued after a house party in Aberdeen.And in Paisley three men were fined for being in a van together on Saturday.

In another incident Strathclyde Country Park was forced to shut down after people continue to defy government advice on the coronavirus crisis. Scores of punters were seen in the Motherwell park, despite strict new measures banning Scots from going outside unless they have a 'reasonable excuse'.

Number of incidents were reported UK wide where people have ignored the guidelines from Government. Cumbria, Skegness and other popular tourist attractions have also seen a rise in number of tourists visiting. Easter holidays and pleasant weather is another cause of people not obeying the guidelines however government has urged public to stay in doors in order to control the outbreak.