The tightest COVID-19 restrictions in the United Kingdom were introduced by Northern Ireland on Wednesday, shutting schools, pubs and restaurants to slow the spread of the virus. 


The change came as the current three-tiered restriction structure in England took effect, with the most extreme steps facing the northwestern city of Liverpool. City authorities said that hospital services were already heavily stressed by patients with viruses and decried images of partiers filling the streets as bars closed before a local lockdown. 



The Northern Ireland restrictions include the closure of schools for two weeks and the shutdown of pubs and restaurants for four weeks, with the exception of takeaway orders. The announcement came after conversations between political parties in the power-sharing government of the country that lasted from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning. 


At the regional assembly in Belfast, First Minister Arlene Foster told lawmakers that "This is not the time for trite political arguments." The time for solutions is here.


U.K. U.K. Health officials also met on Wednesday to discuss whether to add other areas of northern England to the highest level of virus risk, including Manchester and Lancashire, meaning additional measures could soon be imposed there, such as closing pubs. When the proposal was announced on Monday, only Liverpool was put in the highest risk category. 


Health responsibility is managed by regional authorities in the U.K. 's system of devolved jurisdiction. This implies that their own COVID-19 rules are being imposed by Northern Ireland , Scotland and Wales. In the U.K. The government controls England 's policy, but says it coordinates with others. 


Two days after announcing his three-tier approach, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is being criticised by all sides. A report Tuesday showed that the scientific advisers of the government urged it to impose much harsher measures, including a national lockdown of two to three weeks.


The opposition Labour Party has called for this advice to be implemented, although some members of the Johnson Conservative Party argue that the initiative of the government is already going too far and harming the fragile economy of Britain. 


Johnson said his strategy was "common-sensory," speaking to lawmakers on Wednesday, and accused Labour Party leader Keir Starmer of trying to close businesses in places where infection rates are poor. Johnson said the only way to "escape the agony of another national lockdown" was to take a regional approach. 


However, if the existing regional strategy does not help in pushing down new case numbers, Johnson said he was not ruling out anything in the future. 


With over 43,000 confirmed deaths, Britain still has Europe's deadliest outbreak, and Northern Ireland has the highest infection rate in the U.K. 


Northern Ireland has reported 1,156 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people since the beginning of the pandemic, compared with 995 in Wales, 960 in England and 755 in Scotland.


On Wednesday, the regional government of Greater Manchester opposed attempts to move it to the highest level of coronavirus risk, saying the metropolitan area's infection rates and hospitalisation levels are much lower than those in Liverpool. Also, local authorities said the U.K. There was insufficient financial assistance from the government to mitigate the economic impact of such a move. 


"If the government pursues its current policy, we conclude that for most of the winter it would leave significant parts of northern England stuck in Tier 3 regions, with all the harm it will do," said the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.


Revelers poured into the streets to party and taunt police on Tuesday night in Liverpool as pubs closed before the harsh new regulations that could keep them shuttered for months. The photos were shown on social media, including a video of a police car slowly driving through the crowd as participants banged on the side of the car.


"Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson wrote on Twitter:" It's disgusting to embarrass our town with these images, to threaten our brave police officers. 


Our health service is crackling, 300 are in the hospital, and 30 are dead every week. Ignoring these details is why we are in Tier 3 measures. 


Liverpool is the first city in England to be put in the midst of rising rates of coronavirus infection under the government's toughest Tier 3 restrictions. Pubs and bars that do not offer meals are forced to close under the current three-tier structure. Furthermore, indoor social events with individuals from other homes are forbidden and residents are advised not to move outside the area. 


The measures will be reviewed regularly but, the government says, could last as long as six months.


Paul Brant, a member of the Liverpool City Council, told the BBC that more than 250 COVID-19 patients are already being treated by the city's hospitals and will reach the peak of the first wave of the virus within 10 days if the spread of the virus does not slow. Around 90% of the critical care and intensive care beds in the town are already occupied, he said. 


Brant said, "The strength of demand for hospital services here in Liverpool crowds out something other than coping with COVID-19,"