Coronavirus: Avoid 'party weekend' ahead of new restrictions, public told - BBC News

The Police Federation said there was a "real risk" that the public would "take advantage of the current situation".

In Northern Ireland last month, meanwhile, the number of people who could gather indoors in a private home was reduced from 10 people from four households to six people from two households.

With the introduction of the new rules in England and Wales delayed until Monday, John Apter, the chairman of the Police Federation for England and Wales, said: "There is a real risk some members of the public will take advantage of the current situation and treat this weekend as a party weekend ahead of the tighter restrictions being introduced on Monday.

"There is an anticipation that everyone is going to have a big last binge, but people are starting to get fearful and a lot of licensed premises have already been clamped down on by the police," he said.

In Scotland, daily coronavirus cases have hit a four-month high, with a total of 221 people testing positive for the virus in the past 24 hours - the highest daily figure since May 8.

The virus is still at much lower levels across the UK than at the peak in April, but a study of thousands of people in England found cases are doubling every seven to eight days.

He added that there needed to be "a degree of self-discipline and restriction" in order to deal with the challenges posed by the rising number of coronavirus cases across England - and the escalating R number, which measures the rate at which the virus is transmitted

And in addition to a general rise in cases in the community, the government's latest coronavirus surveillance report shows a sharp rise in people over the age of 85 testing positive

It comes after people across England told BBC News they are struggling to access coronavirus tests