Cafes, pubs and restaurants must close from Friday night (20/3/2020), except for take-away food, to tackle coronavirus, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said.
All the UK’s nightclubs, theatres, cinemas, gyms and leisure centres have also been told to close “as soon as they reasonably can”.
Mr Johnson said the situation will be reviewed each month.
The announcement about closures follows similar measures taken in other countries – including in Ireland, where pubs and bars were asked to close from last Sunday.
There have been 167 deaths in England from the coronavirus outbreak, as well as six in Scotland, three in Wales and one in Northern Ireland.
Speaking at a daily Downing Street press briefing, Mr Johnson said the measures would be enforced “strictly” and that licensing arrangements will make doing so “relatively simple”.
He urged people not to go out on Friday night, stressing: “For now, at least physically, we need to keep people apart.”
The prime minister added: “The more effectively we follow the advice we are given, the faster this country will stage both a medical and an economic recovery in full.”
The government is also to pay 80% of wages for employees not working, up to £2,500 a month, Chancellor Rishi Sunak says.
The “unprecedented” measures are part of government plans to protect people’s jobs, he says.
Many firms have been warning of collapse, wiping out thousands of jobs, as life in the UK is largely put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He added that the closure of pubs and restaurants would have a “significant impact” on businesses.
“Today I can announce that for the first time in our history the government is going to step in and pay people’s wages,” he said.
The Chancellor made an appeal to employers to stand by their workers during the coronavirus crisis.
“Let me speak directly to businesses: I know it’s incredibly difficult out there – we in government are doing everything we can to support you,” he said.
“The government is doing its best to stand behind you and I’m asking you to do your best to stand behind our workers.”
Source: BBC news www.bbc.co.uk/news