Leeds is at a pivotal moment in its fight against coronavirus after the city was placed into Tier 3 restrictions.
Council leaders confirmed that Leeds has been placed under Tier 3 restrictions in a meeting on Thursday evening, in an effort to curb the spread of Covid-19.
The restrictions will come into place on Monday morning at 00:01.
Council Leader Judith Blake confirmed the move in the aforementioned meeting, stating it was a decision that regrettably had to be made following the rapid rises of confirmed cases in Leeds and West Yorkshire.
Cllr Blake said: "We will be moving into Tier 3 on one minute past midnight.
"This is a very difficult decision for us to take and we recognise the significant of the economic impact that it will have, but the virus is at a stage in which we need to take measures."
Julian Hartley, chief executive for Leeds Teaching Hospitals spoke about the detrimental effect that the rise in cases has had on their hospitals, and touched on why the decision was made to cancel some operations.
He said: “The numbers have continued to grow over the last month, and the coronavirus cases have significantly increased over the last month.
“This time last week we have 158, now we have 268. We have now exceeded the peak position we were in back in April – this has brought additional pressure on our staff.
"We have had to make adjustments, and have been forced to halt some operational procedures.
"We must see a downturn infection rates – this is absolutely crucial."
However, the chief medical officer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust stated that whilst they have more cases now than back during the first wave, the hospitals are in a better position to deal with patients who have the virus.
Dr Phil Wood said: "As has been said, we do have more patients as we did in the peak back in April – but we are now more equipped to manage.
"The key to what we’re focused on now is keeping our covid patients safe, as well as other patients who do not have the virus.”
The city’s director of public health, Victoria Eaton, said the latest case rate for Leeds is 416.7 per 100,000 people.
She said the city was the 35th in England in terms of the seven-day infection rate.
Ms Eaton said a “cause of concern” was that, for the first time on Wednesday, the age group with the highest number of cases was the 30 to 44-year-olds rather than the 16 to 29-year-olds.
She said the situation is “incredibly challenging at the moment”.
Leeds saw an increase in its coronavirus infection rate yesterday, with 17 out of 19 areas in Yorkshire saw a rise in rates. The cities infection rate rose from 383.8 to 415.4
From now on, households are banned from mixing indoors and pubs and bars have to shut across the city and West Yorkshire, unless they are serving substantial meals.
Additionally, betting shops, adult gaming centres, casinos and soft play centres have also been forced to close.
You cannot meet anyone that is outside of your household or support bubble in any indoor setting, including hospitality venues.
You also cannot meet anyone that is outside of your household or support bubble in any private outdoor setting, such as someone's garden, or outside in hospitality venues such as pub gardens.
You may continue to meet with people outside of your household or support bubble in outdoor public spaces, such as parks, beaches and the countryside; public gardens and allotments; and outdoor sports areas, including playgrounds.
Pubs and bars will be required to close from 00.01 on Monday (morning), unless they are able to serve 'substantial meals', which includes a main lunchtime or evening meal.
They will only be able to serve alcohol if it comes with a meal, so people may not go to the pub just for a pint.
Retail venues and places of worship will remain open, but people may not mix with those outside of their household or support bubble.
