AS the coronavirus outbreak continues and more extreme measures are taken to halt its spread, businesses and organisations across the district are closing stores and cancelling events in response. 

Following the Government’s plea for people to practice social distancing, public places have become increasingly quiet as people stay indoors and hunker down in what is an unprecedented time for the nation. 

Earlier this week, Bradford Council took the decision to close all its museums and galleries, sport and leisure centres, theatres and residential outdoor centres for the foreseeable future, as well as stopping all events, tourism services and training courses. 

From Monday, First West Yorkshire will operate a Saturday service timetable on all its services. Arriva will also reduce the frequency of some of its services. A number of planes stood on the runway at Leeds Bradford Airport - a marker of the impact on travel. 

The Cedar Court Hotel is also closing its doors.

The Light Cinema in Bradford has closed and other cinema chains including the Odeon, Showcase, Cineworld and Vue have also closed their sites.

The National Science and Media Museum is closed until further notice, while the Bradford Police Museum has also closed for the foreseeable future, as has the Peace Museum. 
A number of other city centre spots have closed their doors, including The Rooftop Cafe, Kala Sangam, and the Love Deli, Sunbridge Road, is due to shut tomorrow afternoon. 

The Rose & Crown in Sunbridgewells will close at 7pm today until further notice and the Record Cafe, on North Parade, said it will more than likely introduce reduced hours in the coming days. The Brick Box, Ivegate, has taken the decision to close its bar. The Gin Bar in Sunbridgewells has also shut its doors.

While the Kirkgate Shopping Centre and Broadway remain open, some stores have taken the decision to close.

These include Clarks, River Island and the Zizzi restaurant.

A note on the front of Clarks said: “We’ve closed temporarily to protect our colleagues and our customers.

“As part of our enduring commitment to the health and safety of our employees and surrounding communities, we have temporarily closed all Clarks owned stores in the UK and Republic of Ireland.”

While a notice on Zizzi said: “We have chosen to temporarily close this Zizzi until further notice, following the government guidance on social gathering and the Covid-19 outbreak.”

Meanwhile, hospitality giant Whitbread is also set to temporarily close around 400 restaurant sites from tonight in response to the virus.The move will affect its chains such as Brewers Fayre, Beefeater and Bar + Block.

Organisers of the Bradford Literature Festival say they are working hard to ensure the event can go ahead, but the Bradford Pride Festival, due to begin on May 30, has been postponed and the Skipton, Haworth and the SpringFest beer festivals have also been postponed because of the pandemic.

The Skipton event organised by Keighley and Craven branch of Camra was due to take place from May 28-30. 

The Haworth Beer Festival, organised by Bronte Bars and Events was due to take place on March 26-27 at The Friendly pub in Stanbury while Salt Beer Factory’s SpringFest at their site in Shipley on April 24-25 has also fallen foul of the situation.

The Campaign for Real Ale, which runs over 180 local beer festivals across the country, has cancelled all events – including local beer festivals – planned between now and the end of June following recent government advice on mass gathering. Black Dyke Mills, Queensbury, will be cancelling all its shows scheduled for March and April and will review the situation from May. 

The Otley and Ilkley carnivals have been cancelled, as have the Otley Show, Arthington Show and Askwith Show.

The Tour de Yorkshire, due to run from April 30 to May 3, has been called off, as well as all Parkrun events. Brighouse events including the Brighouse Easter Trail (April 11), the April Artisan Market (April 26) and the Brighouse 1940’s Weekend (June 6 and 7) have been postponed.  

Other cancellations/closures:

The Bradford Urban Wildlife AGM on Thursday March 26 isa cancelled and its general meeting on the April 23 is also cancelled. Its summer programme of events will still go ahead as planned.

St Ives (Bingley) RDA based at Aireview Equestrian Centre, is a charity that provides therapy through horses to local disabled people – all supported by a team of dedicated volunteers. In an effort to protect both participants and volunteers from Coronavirus St Ives, the charity has decided to suspend all activities until further notice.

*If you would like to let us know of a closure or cancellation, please email newsdesk@telegraphandargus.co.uk*