Sheffield drinkers told to ‘restrain themselves’ this weekend after video of busy West Street

Footage showing West Street heaving with revellers seemingly ignoring the ‘one metre plus’ requirement last Friday, July 17, sparked concerns over a potential spike in coronavirus cases.

The clip, which generated hundreds of comments, has now prompted a councillor to call for ‘restraint’ ahead of what is expected to be another busy weekend.

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Douglas Johnson, Green Party councillor for the City ward, said: “It’s a little hard to tell from the video just how busy it is but there do appear to be people who are quite close together and not observing social distancing.

"I would appeal to the general public to remember that it’s not just about them being at risk from coronavirus, it’s about other people who could be affected by them spreading it, and I would call for a bit of restraint.”

Mr Johnson added that it was ‘understandable’ people wanted to get out and enjoy themselves after spending so long cooped up, and he said pubs and bars had a responsibility to put measures in place to ensure they can do so safely.

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He advised anyone who was concerned about any particularly flagrant breaches of the rules to contact Sheffield Council’s licensing team so they could investigate.

The coronavirus infection rate in Sheffield has been falling, with the daily average of new cases falling from 23.6 during the week ending on June 27 to 5.4 in the seven days to July 19.

But there are concerns it could rise again if people do not continue to observe safety measures, which from tomorrow, Friday, July 24, will include wearing a face covering inside shops.

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Numerous readers have expressed their concerns over the scenes last weekend on West Street, with Jamela Hashem commenting that to some ‘drink is more important to a death sentence’ and Issie Dexter branding people’s behaviour ‘disgusting’.

Louise Walker wrote: “People don't seem to understand that covid is still with us, bubbling away on the surface at the moment, but it will explode again if this carries on and winter will be on its way in a few months. I've had covid once and it isn't pretty. You can get it twice. People please be wise and less selfish.”

But others defended the actions of those pictured.

Conor Lewis wrote: “Stop attacking people for finally getting to enjoy themselves. It’s tiresome.”

And James Mclean said: “Give people a break. Things are bad enough without us judging and calling (out) others.”

The Star has contacted Sheffield Council and South Yorkshire Police about what is being done to ensure people comply with social distancing rules both inside and outside bars and pubs, but neither has responded.

We have also contacted Tiger Works and Molly Malone’s, two of the venues seen in the video, neither of which has replied to our request for a comment.