RUSH hour arrived in York this morning with barely a car in sight.
Fulford Road and Bootham are normally two of York’s busiest commuter routes, clogged with cars, buses, vans and lorries as drivers head into work, take their children to school and go to the shops.
But these pictures show both roads almost completely deserted during the Monday morning rush hour in the wake of Government measures to try to slow down the spread of the coronavirus.
Traffic was very light at 7.30am in Bootham, where it is usually bumper to bumper at that time.
And in Fulford Road, the only moving vehicles to be seen at 8.30am were a council refuse collection lorry and a van.
The usual school run had disappeared following the Government’s decision last week to close down the nation’s schools, and commuters had disappeared following the decision of many people to work from home instead of their office and following the closure of many workplaces.
Meanwhile, shoppers and tourists had also disappeared after the closure of many shops, museums and other tourist attractions in the city centre.
Nor was anyone driving down to the pub or cafe for breakfast, following the Prime Minister’s announcement on Friday that bars, pubs and restaurants must close to try to stem the spread of the virus.
And about 1.5 million people who are vulnerable because of their age or because they suffer from a range of pre-existing medical conditions - such as those who have received organ transplants, are living with severe respiratory conditions such as cystic fibrosis or have specific cancers, such as blood or bone marrow - weren’t driving anywhere after being urged by the Prime Minister to self-isolate at home for 12 weeks from yesterday to “shield” themselves from the disease.
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