Should there be another Covid-19 lockdown? Sheffield residents and traders give their views

No new restrictions were announced last night after a meeting of ministers discussed new measures. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the data was being reviewed ‘hour by hour.’

Speaking to the Sheffield Telegraph in Broomhill this morning, business owners and residents expressed their views on further restrictions and how the pandemic should be navigated going forward.

Lisa Oxley, from Handsworth said: “I think it’s something we have to learn to live with now. A lockdown is just going to cripple businesses. I was in favour of the first lockdown in 2020. We expected people to be dying in the streets.

"I don’t think there will be a full lockdown. People won’t listen after Boris Johnson has been breaking his own rules."

Linda Nicholson, aged 83, said: “I think they should bring in more restrictions. I am worried about Omicron. I can’t make plans for next year and I haven’t been on holiday for two years – nothing will get me on a plane. I feel like I am in limbo.

At the time of writing, 61 per cent of respondents in a Sheffield Telegraph poll on Twitter said they did not think there should be a lockdown to tackle Omicron, with 31 per cent thinking there should be. More than 130 people have so far taken part in the poll.

Williamsons Hardware director, Martin Greaves, said: “Personally I don’t think there should be more restrictions. I think more restrictions will come in but it will be for hospitality and large gatherings, not for shops.

"For businesses in Broomhill, I think there is a feeling of here we go again. Traders thought we were through this because we were having all these injections. Nobody knows what is going to happen, not even Boris Johnson."

Jenny Coleman, owner of Good Taste, said: “I hope we will stay open. What I really hope is that we will plan to live with Covid. If this turns out to be really serious we will have to close. I wouldn’t want the government’s job now.”

The number of coronavirus cases in Sheffield increased by 1,741 over the weekend, official figures show – and two more deaths were recorded.

A total of 100,682 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 in Sheffield when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on December 20 (Monday), up from 98,941 on Friday.

The rate of infection in Sheffield now stands at 17,088 cases per 100,000 people, lower than the England average of 17,208.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases increased by 262,767 over the period, to 11,453,121.

There were also two more coronavirus deaths recorded over the weekend in Sheffield.

The dashboard shows 1,346 people had died in the area by December 20 (Monday) – up from 1,344 on Friday.

It means there have been five deaths in the past week, which is a decrease on six the previous week.