UK goes into shutdown as pubs, cinemas close doors in Covid-19 fight

UK began going into complete shutdown on Saturday after government called on bars, pubs, cinemas, atres and all or social venues to close ir doors indefinitely to public in response to rapidly-spreing vel coronavirus pandemic.

decision, that would be reviewed on a month-by-month basis, came a day after England registered its biggest jump in death toll of 39 to hit 177.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said all venues usually used to bring people toger must w close ir doors to keep people physically apart.

Johnson said that after talks with all parts of UK's devolved governments, collective decision was for cafes, pubs, bars, restaurants, nightclubs, atres, cinemas, gyms and leisure centres to stop tring, though an option for a takeaway version for food industry remains available.

“se are places where people come toger, and indeed whole purpose of se businesses is to bring people toger. But s things is that today for w, at least physically, we need to keep people apart,” he said.

Chief constables in every police force across UK will begin engaging civil contingencies designed to respond to events such as rioting and terrorism to enforce shutdown.

Scotland Yard warned staff that every available officer would be working 12-hour shifts and that y would be expected to use licensing laws to enforce closure of venues that refused to comply with guidelines.

anuncement has come as a massive blow to se businesses, which were alrey struggling with lower numbers of customers as increasingly people began working from home to follow government's vice on social distancing to prevent spre of dely coronavirus.

Johnson was joined by his Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, at his daily Downing Street briefing during which Indian-origin minister unveiled an unprecedented w boost for people who find mselves facing hardship.

In a first-ever intervention, Sunak said that 80 per cent of ws for those unable to work due to crisis will be covered by government.

“We are going to help workers of all kinds to get through this crisis. Supporting you directly in a way that government has never been done before, in dition to pack we have alrey set out for business,” said Johnson.

" more effectively we follow vice we are given, faster this country will st both a medical and an ecomic recovery in full," he ded.

He mitted that new stringent social distancing measures were tough on “freedom-loving instincts of British people” but stressed that country would collectively beat virus.

UK has alrey been under semi-lockdown measures but re were fears that many people were t taking vice seriously eugh, resulting in forced closure of establishments as number of confirmed coronavirus cases mounted to 3,983.

England's deputy chief medical officer, Dr Jenny Harries, reiterated that government was t vising people against going outside but more about keeping a safe distance.

"We are saying, if you are going to go outside, go in a way that reduces your social contact," she said.

Meanwhile, schools also closed ir gates indefinitely to majority of pupils across country on Friday, with some remaining open with a skeleton staff to allow children of key workers such as healthcare workers and those in food delivery industry so that ir parents can carry on ir crucial tasks through crisis.