Coronavirus: Last-minute haircuts and pints as England prepares for second lockdown

Non-essential shops, pubs and restaurants will be forced to close from Thursday

Last-minute shoppers and pub-goers were out in force across England on Wednesday evening as the nation prepared to join other European countries going into a second coronavirus lockdown this week.

Non-essential shops, gyms, pubs, restaurants and entertainment venues, such as art galleries and cinemas, will be forced to close from Thursday until at least 2 December following a sudden change of course by Boris Johnson’s government last weekend.

With thousands of venues facing shutdown tomorrow, some business owners were reporting brisk trade on Wednesday, sometimes on an unprecedented scale.

London hairdresser Richard Ward said his team of around 100 had worked through 1,400 customers in the three working days since the announcement of the lockdown, but added that weekly business was still down around 25 per cent on an annual basis.

“The staff are working back to back, all days off have been canceled, all holidays have been canceled,” Mr Ward told AP.

“When you have high overheads like we have here, it's a numbers game, and you have to take a lot of money in order to pay all these people and pay all the overheads.”

Miri Buci, a 30-year-old barber at Dulwich Barbers in southeast London, also told AP that Wednesday was the busiest day he could remember but added that he was not sure if the lockdown was “the right thing to do”.

“What are we going to do if we don't get a vaccine? Lock down every few months?” he added.

Mr Buci’s scepticism is shared by a number of Conservative MPs, who have argued that the new lockdown is too draconian and will have major consequences for the UK’s economy.

However, Mr Johnson easily won a vote on the new measures on Wednesday after receiving the backing of opposition parties in parliament.

In a move to help the struggling hospitality industry, the government also announced a U-turn on Wednesday on businesses being allowed to sell takeaway alcohol during the second lockdown.

The new rules state customers must pre-order their drink online, or by phone or post, which can then be collected as long as they do not enter the venue.

Official guidelines published over the weekend had indicated there would be a ban on serving alcohol for takeaway from restaurants and pubs.

Nik Antona, chairman of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), said he was “delighted” that the government had changed its stance on the issue.

“This is a vital lifeline for local pubs and breweries across England over the coming four weeks, giving them a lifeline of income and allowing people to support local businesses,” Mr Antona said.

However, Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), warned that the measure was not “anywhere near enough” to help save the pubs industry from financial disaster.

“Supermarkets and off-licences can still sell alcohol so this is grossly unfair on pubs with off-licences,” Ms McClarkin said.

“It remains the case that to help pubs and brewers survive, and to stop up to 7.5 million pints from being wasted, the government needs to give pubs the same ability to sell off-licence alcohol as it did in the first lockdown.”

Additional reporting by agencies