PUBS and restaurants are facing uncertainty as ministers consider imposing fresh regional restrictions amid a spike in cases in northern England. 

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick this morning declined to rule out shutting pubs and restaurants. 

Mr Jenrick said ministers are “currently considering what steps we should take” as he warned of a “fast and serious situation” in the North.

The Government in Westminster is under increasing pressure to act after Scotland announced fresh restrictions on the hospitality sector.

Dr Adam Kucharski, a scientist advising the Government, warned that there are “pretty serious” outbreaks in parts of England and medics warned of increasing hospital admissions.

Mr Jenrick was pressed on whether new restrictions on the hospitality industry could come as early as Monday as rates soar in cities including Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle.

“It is correct to say the number of cases in the North West and the North East and a number of cities, particularly in the Midlands like Nottingham, are rising fast and that is a serious situation,” he told BBC Breakfast.

“We are currently considering what steps we should take, obviously taking the advice of our scientific and medical advisers, and a decision will be made shortly.”

But he said that a “localised but proportionate response has to be the way forwards” amid calls from experts to impose new national measures.

Dr Kucharski, a member of the Government’s scientific pandemic influenza group on modelling, warned of worsening infection rates in parts of England.

“So, I think we are in a situation where cases are rising and they are going to continue to rise unless something changes,” the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine scientist told Today.

“We have got now good evidence that a lot of transmission particularly happens at prolonged indoor interactions, particularly among close-knit gatherings, so, obviously pubs and restaurants are one potential setting for that to happen.”

Downing Street and the Department of Health and Social Care both declined to comment on the reports that new restrictions on hospitality will come as soon as Monday.

The latest official figures showed that, as of 9am on Wednesday, there had been a further 14,162 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK and that a further 70 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19.