U.K. police will be authorized to break up gatherings of more than two people in public.
LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the public Monday night to “stay at home” for all but a few exceptions and ordered shops that don’t sell essential goods to shut down as he ramped up restrictions imposed by the U.K. government in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
Under the measures, the most draconian restrictions the British state has ever imposed in peacetime, people will only be allowed to leave home for a few “very limited purposes” to relieve the pressure on the National Health Service, Johnson said. Johnson said the police will have the power to enforce the new requirements, including through fines and dispersing gatherings.
Officials at Snowdonia National Park in Wales, for example, introduced its own restrictions and urged the government to be more explicit with its social distancing advice after its “busiest visitor weekend in living memory.” And responding to the visibly high use of parks and the London Underground during the outbreak, London Mayor Sadiq Khan implored people to stay at home unless they “absolutely need to” move about the city.
New infections are increasing at an exponential rate, raising concern that the country will be on a trajectory like Italy’s in a week or two if containment efforts are not successful.
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