Pubs should close by 6pm to prevent spread of coronavirus, says top scientist

A top Government scientist is suggesting that pubs should close by 6pm to help reduce the spread of coronavirus.

Prof Jonathan Van-Tam has reportedly admitted there is little evidence to support the effectiveness of closing pubs at the current 10pm curfew.

The Government's deputy chief medical officer is said to have made the comments during a private briefing on Greater Manchester's current lockdown situation - where ministers tried to persuade the region's leadership to accept Tier 3 restrictions, reports The Mirror.

According to one MP present, Prof Van-Tam responded to a question on whether 10pm curfews made a difference to coronavirus transmission rates by saying: "Not really. I’d prefer 6pm, or even earlier.”

It comes after Sir Keir Starmer challenged Boris Johnson to provide the technical reasoning behind the rule.

The Prime Minister and cabinet ministers have been accused of imposing “arbitrary” rules that harm the economy but are not justified by the science.

Scotland currently has a 6pm curfew in place on its hospitality establishments.

In Manchester, Mayor Andy Burnham has pushed for more financial support if pubs and restaurants are forced to close.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is understood to have told the Prime Minister that he is willing to reopen his cheque book to “get a deal over the line” with the Labour mayor.

He is thought to be prepared to offer Greater Manchester leaders tens of millions of pounds to soften the financial blow of going into the highest level of lockdown.

But it falls short of the region’s demand for the new jobs furlough scheme, which offers 66% of wages, to be as generous as the 80% paid out earlier this year.

Over the most recent seven days cases in Manchester have gone down by 25% from their peak level rate of 583.5 cases per 100,000 on October 3.

Cases are continuing to climb however, with the Prime Minister warning that he would intervene and impose tougher restrictions on the region as cases had 'doubled in the past nine days'.

He said: "On recent trends, in just over two weeks there will be more Covid patients in intensive care than at the peak of the first wave so I urge the mayor to reconsider and engage constructively."