Approximately thirty metal barriers were installed in front of King’s College yesterday (03/01) by Cambridge City Council in an assumed attempt to encourage social distancing and prevent crowds from gathering along King’s Parade. 

 The barriers display safety posters which deliver guidance in line with the government’s ‘Hands. Face. Space’ winter public information campaign, with markers reminding passers-by of the need to maintain a two-metre social distance from others in public.

The fencing, which will be installed daily at 10:00 in the morning and taken down at night, will remain in operation for the next two weeks. 

The measure comes as Cambridge recorded 564 Covid-19 cases between 24-30 December following the enforcement of Tier 4 restrictions from Boxing Day (26/12) - marking an increase of 224 cases on the previous week, with 3,272 cases recorded in total in the city as of yesterday (03/01).

Two councillors responsible for the Market Ward area, which King’s Parade comes under, were unaware that the fencing had been implemented when contacted by CambridgeshireLive yesterday (03/01), meanwhile Liberal Democrat Councillor Katie Porrer did not respond to a comment request on the matter.

The measure follows the Council’s move to fence off Cambridge’s Market Square on New Year’s Day (01/01) to "help reduce the spread of coronavirus in the city" and "avoid attracting people to the city centre."

The decision sparked outrage from stall-holders at the market who worry for the implications this will have on their trade, with a petition to reopen the market and allow the sale of "essential food supplies" achieving over 4,000 signatures so far.

The measure also comes almost a year after the installation of King’s Parade’s controversial anti-terror barrier, with concerns expressed at the time over potential congestion and the quality of the infrastructure alike. 

The UK recorded 54,990 cases and 454 deaths yesterday (03/01), following a record-high of 57,725 cases the previous day (02/01).