The coronavirus ‘Rule of Six’ descended into farce today as Britons ignored the new restrictions and Downing Street said police would not fine lawbreakers.
From this morning, Britons were banned from gathering in groups of more than six under new government guidelines to curb Covid infection rates – the first widespread tightening of lockdown since March.
But No 10 sparked confusion this afternoon by admitting no punishments would be handed out to those who break the rules the first time.
It was despite the Prime Minister announcing the regulations would come in days ago, giving the public ample time to get used to the idea.
Cases of coronavirus have been increasing by at least 3,000 every 24 hours and some experts have warned drastic action needed to be taken.
But after a day of ministers playing down any enforcement, followed by a Downing Street comment confirming the soft touch, some people decided to make their own decisions.
In Bath in Somerset pictures showed 14 massed in a river seemingly unaware they were hardly social distancing.
The story was the same at Pontefract racecourse in West Yorkshire where a group of ten gathered to enjoy the hot weather.
And an anti-mask protest in Nottingham unsurprisingly saw a number of people ignore the new safety rules.
Samantha Jones, 42, from Grimsby, who lost her job as a shop worker because of the Covid lockdown earlier this year, was today mixing with more than six people.
She fumed: ‘If the government think I’m going to obey the Rule of Six then they can think again. I’m standing here with four adults and three children and the restrictions come into force today so technically I guess I’m breaking the rules.
‘But I’ve got five children, three of who live with me, and I’ve got two grandkids. There is no way that I’m going to stop my kids seeing their grandparents or stop my elder daughter from bringing my grandchildren round. It’s complete nonsense.
‘My sister has eight children and because in England – unlike Wales or Scotland – children count as part of your bubble of six people, she won’t be able to have anyone round. That doesn’t seem fair at all.
‘So If people can still mix in pubs, restaurants and at work and school then I’m going to carry on seeing members of my family even if it means breaking this Rule of Six. Realistically the police aren’t going to stop everyone are they?
‘And there is absolutely no way that I’m going to snoop on anyone doing the same!’
It comes after Boris Johnson sent shockwaves through nation last week when he announced the restrictions, the first widespread tightening of lockdown since March.
However, the rules in England are tougher than in Wales and Scotland, where under-12s are being exempted from the crackdown.
In another day of dramatic coronavirus developments:
- Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer has gone into self-isolation after a member of his household displayed coronavirus symptom, just hours after he took a phone-in in the LBC radio studios;
- England records just one more Covid-19 death in hospital in preliminary toll as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland record no new victims;
- Union leader threatens strike action over Government plans to get four-in-five civil servants back to work by the end of September;
- Wetherspoons reveals 66 workers have tested positive for coronavirus with outbreaks reported at 50 of its 861 pubs;
- Rishi Sunak ‘could delay the Budget until January’ amid fears a second wave of coronavirus this autumn could cause more havoc to the economy;
- Britain bets on another coronavirus vaccine with £1.3billion investment in Scottish factory which will manufacture 190million doses of Valneva’s jab;
- Prof Chris Whitty ‘told off’ chief scientist Sir Patrick Vallance for pushing too hard for a lockdown in March, confidential emails reveal;
- Hospital admissions for seven major non-Covid illnesses, including heart attacks, slump by 173,000 – as GPs are ordered to see patients face-to-face.
People enjoy the water at Warleigh Weir on the river Avon near Bath in Somerset as the Rule of Six restrictions become law
A group of seven people sat together at the Royal Victoria
Primrose Hill in north London saw groups over over six join together for a day out in the sunshine on the Rule’s first test
A group of 12 in Scotland looked like they were trying to social distance in parts, but still fell foul of the new regulations
No safe six: a group of seven people watch a friend play football in the Autumn sunshine on Bournemouth beach in Dorset
Pontefract race course saw ten youths mass on the grass on the first day of being told to keep to groups of just six
A group larger than six sit together on Portobello beach after the Scottish Government implicate the Rule of Six
Brighton beach looked very busy with groups larger than six seen sitting near the seashore on the sunny day
Leeds saw groups of larger than six also meet up despite the strict regulations being put into place today
In Nottingham anti-maskers failed to follow the Rule of Six in an admittedly unsurprising first day flouting of the regulations
Police attempted to remonstrate with the protesters but their advice and warnings appeared to fall on deaf ears
Leanne Groves, 38, a mum of four from Grimsby said: ‘I can appreciate the government have brought this rule in to try and stop another spike in Coronavirus cases but it seems impractical to me.
‘My daughter has a birthday coming up and now she’s had to be told that she can’t have her friends round nor any of our family.
‘I have four young kids but they count as part of the Rule of Six so with me included my mum and grandmother can’t both come round like they usually do.
‘Yet my kids can go to school and mix with more than six people, I can go to work and be with more than six people and can even get on bus to work with more than six people. It doesn’t make sense therefore that you can’t meet up with your nearest and dearest.
‘I’m a manager at a McDonalds and when I get to work there are at least 25 members of staff present and numerous customers throughout the day.
‘I will have to stick to it, but it will be really difficult to adhere to the closer we get to Christmas especially as that’s when you want to be with your family.’
Builder Don Brett, 62, of Leytonstone, East London added: ‘I don’t understand the new six people rule. I don’t get it and I really don’t care.
‘We have been going through this pandemic thing for more than six months now. And that is what I do understand and I know that I have to look after myself.
‘I do care about others, but it is down to me to do what is sensible for me.
‘It isn’t as if I need the government to tell me once again what to do.
‘They keep changing their minds anyway. So I’ll just do what I have to do. See my family when I can and my friends and try and keep a safe distance. ‘
Bricklayer Alan Andrews, 24, of Chingford, Essex, said: ‘Who is Boris Johnson to tell us what to do after he and his government have screwed it up?
‘They stand there preaching and just look like they don’t know what they’re talking about.
‘All they care about is business and the economy, not working people like me. ‘I don’t understand what this new six people rule is all about. They were trying to explain on the radio this morning. But I was lost over what they were talking about. Its confusing.’
Nurse Maria Heulmo said: ‘The policies the Government have brought in over the virus have always been too late.
‘Since we went to lockdown late, everything has been untimely. They should’ve been brought in earlier and this new six person role is just the same.
‘Of course we should all follow these new rules, but I don’t think this is the best time for it. ‘It is never too late, but these kind of rules should’ve been introduced earlier to help save lives.’
She said she was ‘absolutely certain’ that Britain would once again go into lockdown because of the rising number of Covid cases.
Ed Marshall, a member of staff at The Grosvenor pub in Cleethorpes said: ‘From today we are no longer taking bookings of more than six people.
‘Staff are also being told to make sure that people don’t mingle between tables and that they keep to their own party.
‘At the moment customers can either order their drinks through a mobile phone app and get the drinks delivered to the table or come to a certain part of the bar where there are sticky spots on the floor ensuring that people keep a safe distance when ordering.
‘We take these new regulations very seriously and are being quite strict on them and anyone flouting the new Rule of Six we can ask to leave the pub.
Carer Katie Cookson, 38, from Grimsby said: ‘The new restrictions are there for a reason. We need to get rid of this virus or at least control it as best we can as soon as possible. I live in a household of four, two children and my partner.
I don’t really meet up with too many people except for my mother because I am her full-time carer.
I I think that people should be doing all they can to stop the spread of coronavirus and to be honest I think I would have no problem in reporting any of my neighbours who I saw flouting the new rules.
‘The elderly are most at risk and I have my mum to think of.’
Mourad Zouane, 47, who runs La Gondola Pizza takeaway in Grimsby said: ‘ We only allow two customers in at any one time and there are only really two people that I can meet up with anyway in my family so for me this Rule of six doesn’t affect me too much.
‘Would I report anyone that I saw flouting the new rules? I’m not sure but I think my wife would because she gets very angry about it.
‘She thinks that people should obey the rules.’
Downing Street suggested police would not immediately start imposing fines today on people who break the ‘rule of six’ restrictions.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘What you would expect to happen is for the police to be out today encouraging people to follow the new rules but in the coming days, if we see people continuing to flout the new rules, it is right that people could face a fine.
‘The regulations are in place to help to stop the spread of the virus, to protect the NHS and to ultimately save lives.’
Asked whether people should report neighbours who breach coronavirus rules, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘What we want people to be focused on is following the new rules and ensuring that they, themselves, help again as they have in the past to slow the spread of the virus.
‘What you have seen in recent weeks is some egregious flouting of the rules, such as the holding of large illegal parties, and members of the public have been contacting the police about those because they have been concerned about the risk to public health.’
The refusals came after ministers today urged people to snitch on their neighbours if they flouted the rules.
Policing minister Kit Malthouse said rule-breakers should be flagged to the authorities, as the draconian measures opened up deep splits between ministers and experts.
The drastic intervention came as Home Secretary Priti Patel warned that people face criminal records as well as thousands of pounds in fines if they refuse to abide by the law.
There is a maximum fine of £3,200 facing rule-breakers who repeatedly disobey the regulations.
Gatherings of more than six people have been made illegal in a bid to stem a surge in coronavirus cases. It has sparked fury that many larger households can no longer meet up with anyone else.
However, the rules in England are tougher than in Wales and Scotland, where under-12s are being exempted from the crackdown.
Britons are now waiting with bated breath to see whether the action can bring infections back down. France and Spain in particular have seen huge rises, but Belgium – which imposed a similar crackdown – appears to have the situation more under control.
There are fears that failure will mean worse curbs in the run-up to Christmas, with a 10pm curfew for pubs being considered amid alarm that young people are ‘forgetting’ Covid regulations.
Changes to regulations in England were published late on Sunday night, around 30 minutes before they came into force.
People face fines of £100, doubling to a maximum of £3,200 for repeat offences, for breaching the law, which bans social gatherings of more than six people both indoors and outdoors.
But the legislation could prove difficult to enforce, with a list of exceptions allowing for larger gatherings at places including education and work settings.
Venues like places of worship, gyms, restaurants and hospitality settings can still hold more than six in total, while weddings and funerals can still go ahead with a limit of 30 people.
There is also a provision in the law that people cannot ‘mingle’ with anyone outside their own six-strong group at wider public events.
Barrister Adam Wagner, who has been analysing the new rules, mocked the wording of the regulation.
‘Is saying hello to someone at a gathering ‘mingling’? What about holding the door open for them?’
Tory MP Simon Hoare told MailOnline the rules appeared slightly ridiculous.
‘Could you loiter? Are you allowed to amble? Could you potter? That is a very strange word to use,’ he said.
‘Wasn’t she a character out of Neighbours? Or was that Mrs Mangle.’
But he said the coronavirus restrictions were exposing fault lines between civil liberties and public health considerations, and the latter had to take priority.
‘It’s better to be safe than sorry. If the guidance is telling government to dictate something we should follow,’ he said.
‘They are the sort of people who would probably say at the height of the Black Death, it is perfectly reasonable to keep wild rats as pets.’
Mr Hoare added: ‘There is a time we just have to defer to expert knowledge and the pre-supposition that the government prefers most of its citizens to stay alive rather than die.’