The announcement was made in the Prime Minister’s daily briefing.
With the coronavirus outbreak hitting the UK hard, a new government order has just been announced for all pubs, bars, restaurants, cafes, cinemas, nightclubs, gyms, and leisure centres across the capital and country to shut, as part of a ramped-up effort to ensure social distancing.
The new regulations – which have been mooted as a potential next step for the capital over the past few days – were announced at the Prime Minister’s 5pm briefing. Although we’ve previously been told to avoid such places as a precaution, the more strigent measures have taken the decision out of our hands, and mark a new phase in the fight against coronavirus.
The government has asked all businesses of this type to close tonight, although takeaway restaurants will be allowed to stay open. Johnson said “We are telling cafes, pubs, bars and restaurants to close tonight as soon as they reasonably can and not reopen tomorrow”, and asked citizens not to go out tonight. He added that the government will be reviewing the situation on a month-by-month basis.
These measures follow recent developments including the closure of 40 Tube stations, and the shuttering of all UK schools for everyone but the children of key workers. As London pulls ahead of the UK when it comes to coronavirus cases, more advanced measures appear to have been deemed necessary for the nation as a whole – previously, media outlets were reporting that the measures would affect London only. In his briefing, Johnson said that all devolved governments had agreed to the new measures, which means they’ll be rolled out across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
It’s another big change to our daily lives – and will be extremely tough on those businesses who hadn’t already decided to close – but sadly, this is a vital step in fighting back against the global pandemic.
More information to follow as soon as we have it.