Fears that emergency services would be overwhelmed after pubs and restaurants reopened in England were not realised, according to initial reports
Before pubs opened for the first time since 23 March, NHS England told hospitals and ambulance services that demand for care was likely to match that of New Year’s Eve. Police forces deployed extra patrols.
Early indications, however, were that criminality and the number of A&E admissions as a result of alcohol were not as high as many had anticipated, although there were small pockets of disorder.
John Apter, the chair of the Police Federation, was on shift in Southampton where he said he dealt with “naked men, happy drunks, angry drunks, fights and more angry drunks”.
He said:“What was crystal clear is that drunk people can’t/won’t socially distance. It was a busy night but the shift managed to cope. I know other areas have had issues with officers being assaulted.”
Images from Soho, central London, showed packed streets into the early hours of Sunday.