LONDON, Jan. 19, (Xinhua/GNA) – A “group of friends” from different addresses were fined by the British police for breaking coronavirus lockdown rules in England by driving more than 100 km to visit McDonald’s, the BBC has reported.
They told Staffordshire Police that they had driven from Manchester to Uttoxeter – a market town in Staffordshire, England – to visit McDonald’s. The distance between Manchester to Uttoxeter is about 109 km. The police said the four occupants of the car, which was stopped in Uttoxeter on Friday night, were all fined 200 pounds (about 273.6 U.S. dollars), the BBC reported.
The force tweeted the group did not have “legitimate reasons to be here other than going to McDonald’s!” and reminded people to “stay at home unless necessary”. Current COVID-19 restrictions mean people are not allowed to leave home to meet socially with anyone they do not live with or are not in a support bubble with. Britons are encouraged to stay at home in order to curb the rising coronavirus infections in the country.
England is currently under the third national lockdown since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country. Similar restriction measures are also in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States have been racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines.
GNA