A KEY figure from Bradford's business community has given his reaction to the new coronavirus restrictions.

Dr Trevor Higgins, who is the chief executive of Bradford Breakthrough, has given his thoughts on rules which will affect both the Bradford district and England as a whole.

From tomorrow, pubs, bars, cafes and restauarants across England will have to shut up shop by 10pm, in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19.

They must now also, by law, provide table service only.

Parts of West Yorkshire - including the Bradford district - are also now under new localised restrictions, which include not being able to visit people you do not live with inside a private home or garden, unless they are part of your support bubble.

Dr Higgins says that the new 10pm curfew will have a big affect on the country's hospitality industry, but also believes that it is a "sensible" measure which must be taken in order to avoid another national lockdown - which he argues would be "disastrous" for businesses.

"These new rules will have a major impact on the hospitality industry, and could cause some places to close for good", Dr Higgins said.

"Pubs and other establishments having to close at 10pm, when they are affectively almost operating towards 'normal' now, will be difficult for them. 

"But, the question is, is there any other option? We can see from the evidence from experts that the cause of the increasing rate of infection was caused by young people this time.

"I'd hate to be a fresher or a student, for example, right now, as they are severely restricted at the moment.

"But, the problem is that they were not all fully complying with the rules being set.

"If I had to make the decision, I think the curfew would be the sensible thing to do, because the last thing we'd want is to go into another national lockdown. That would be extremely difficult to come out of and would be disastrous for businesses.

"Another national lockdown would bring greater misery than the measures which are currently in place.

"There are also a whole range of issues around the business side of things.

"There is now also the view that if you can work from home, then you should. My view is that if you can work from home with no impact on your job, that’s all well and good.

"But some businesses aren't able to do that, so the fact it is a recommendation, rather than a stringent decision, is sensible, I think.

"If you work in a factory, for example, or in the creative industry, where you bounce off each other better face-to-face, people are not always able to work from home.

"Each business has to make a decision that benefits the business, its employees and the economy.

"I think coronavirus is a serious issue we all have to take responsibility for. The use of masks is very important and can only do good and help curb the virus, unless you are exempt from wearing one, of course.

"I personally worry about seeing troops on the streets or something, but maybe having visible things like that on the streets would remind people to follow the rules and would help to stop the spread."