Portrait of the week: A Manchester stand-off, a Presidential showdown and a Brexit culture clash

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After ten days spent trying to persuade Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, to accede to the city entering Tier 3 (which entails the closing of pubs and betting shops), Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, announced that it would happen anyway, from 23 October. ‘I am deeply sorry,’ he said. Manchester had wanted £65 million in support first. Liverpool complained that it was not allowed to keep gyms open when Lancashire was. The nine million people of London languished in Tier 2, forbidden to meet anyone at home or in a pub, except if they pretended it was a business meeting. Scotland hatched plans for its own tiers. Wales imposed a ‘firebreak’, rather than a circuit breaker, from 23 October to 9 November, prohibiting different households from mixing even outdoors, older pupils from attending school, and pubs, churches and ‘non-essential’ shops from opening. Students had to stay in their university accommodation rather than going home. To those with holidays booked in Wales, Mark Drakeford, the First Minister, said: ‘My message to them is that they must not come.’ Yasmin Qureshi, the Labour MP for Bolton South East, was taken to hospital with Covid.

At the beginning of the week, Sunday 18 October, total deaths (within 28 days of testing positive for the coronavirus) stood at 43,579, of which 819 had been reported in the past week, compared with 443 the week before. Up to 11 October, 59,079 people had Covid-19 mentioned on their death certificates. Tom Maschler, the publisher, died aged 87. Chris Killip, the photographer, died aged 74.

‘Trade talks are over,’ the Prime Minister’s spokesman said after a meeting of the European Council concluded that it was up to the UK to make ‘the necessary moves’ to reach a deal with the EU.