Police in Cumbria are offering advice and a reminder that Coronavirus rules are in place after becoming aware of plans by football fans in Scotland to visit pubs and social clubs in the county this weekend.
Officers are reminding people visiting pubs and venues – and the licensees – that Coronavirus regulations such as the Rule of Six do apply – and officers will enforce with penalties if necessary.
Police are aware from social media and from enquiries made with pubs and venues of plans by football fans in Scotland to visit Cumbria this weekend, with stricter rules for licensed premises currently in place north of the border.
Superintendent Matt Kennerley said: “We understand restrictions on licensed premises in Scotland might offer the temptation to travel south of the border to visit our pubs and bars – but anybody breaching rules here does face a fine.
“We would like licensees to be aware of this and to think carefully about their responsibilities and the rules in place to protect everyone.
“For people in the central belt of Scotland, it is also important to remember the Scottish Government is asking those people to think carefully about whether they need to travel outside their local health board area.
“Our officers will be out in town centres and busy areas to enforce breaches of the regulations.”
Supt Kennerley added: “Due to our geography and the popularity of the Lake District we get visitors from many areas every day.
“For instance, people from Cumbria and Scotland cross the border every day to go to work, shop and socialise within the permitted rules.
“But with different restrictions in place in different areas of the UK and the virus now spreading fast, we would urge anybody who does travel in any way to think carefully about their actions.
“Firstly consider if you do need to make that journey, as the more we restrict our contact the less likely the virus is to spread.
“If you do travel you must familiarise yourself with the rules in that area.
“In Cumbria, you must comply with the Rule of Six, wear face coverings on public transport and contact tracing is in place in licensed premises.
“We are also strongly advising people to limit indoor and outdoor contact with others to people from no more than two households at a time.
“Social distancing applies at all times.”
The Regulatory Authorities and police are closely working together to monitor the situation in Carlisle.
A Carlisle City Council spokesperson said: “Our priority is the safety of the pubs and rules are in place to protect everyone.
“We urge local businesses to comply with the new legal requirements or they could face getting a fixed penalty notice or prosecution.
“All employers have a legal responsibility under Health and Safety Law to assess and manage the risk of Covid-19 and protect workers and customers.
“This means businesses need to think about the risks they face and do everything reasonably practicable to minimise them.”
For list of what you can and can’t do in Scotland visit here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-what-you-can-and-cannot-do/pages/seeing-friends-and-family/
For further details of the rules in England visit here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-and-cant-do/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-and-cant-do
