No10 tells everyone to avoid pubs, clubs and theatres

Boris Johnson has effectively cancelled all live comedy for the foreseeable future by calling for an end to ‘all unnecessary social contact’ to combat coronavirus.

Admitting that the measures he proposed might sound ‘very draconian’, the Prime Minister has urged people to ‘avoid pubs, clubs, theatres and other such social contact’.

He stopped short of taking official action to close venues but said: ‘We are giving very strong advice that public venues such as theatres should not be visited.’

The Prime Minister added that ‘we have the powers if necessary’ to close venues, ‘but I don’t think it will be necessary to use those powers.’

Critics say that he took that stance to avoid the government being responsible for compensating venue owners for a lack of income caused by an enforced closure. 

Speaking at a Downing Street press conference, he outlined a dramatic escalation in the Government's response to the bug, saying everyone should also ‘stop unnecessary contact with others and unnecessary travel’, as much as possible. That included urging people to work from home of they could.

He admitted that ‘we are asking people to do something difficult and disruptive to their lives’ and admitted that those with no symptoms might think there is ‘something excessive about these measures’.

But he added: ‘I feel they are overwhelmingly worth it to reduce the spread of the disease.’

Johnson added that the capital was in a more advanced position than the rest of the country in the spread of Covid-19, and said: ‘Londoners should pay special attention to avoiding non-essential contact and avoiding confined spaces such as pubs and restaurants.’

Britain’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty said infection rates were ‘accelerating up the curve really quite rapidly’ and said that lockdowns were likely to be required for extended periods to keep the virus under control.

But he said most people would experience minor symptoms or none at all. 

The aim of the measures is to avoid overwhelming the NHS with those who do get the worst symptoms from the virus and ‘flatten the curve’ of infections.

Published: 16 Mar 2020