Boris Johnson has ordered pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants to close in a major escalation of the fight against coronaviurs.
The prime minister took the unprecedented move as Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled a multi-billion pound package to help workers struggling to cope with the outbreak.
At his daily Downing Street press conference, Mr Johnson said the measures were needed to reduce “unnecessary” social gatherings by 75% in order to have an impact on the infection rate.
“The speed of our eventual recovery depends entirely on our collective ability to get on top of the virus now and that means we have to take the next steps on scientific advice,” the prime minister said.
“We need now to push down further on that curve of transmission between us, so we are collectively telling cafes, pubs, bars and restaurants to close tonight as soon as they reasonably can and not to open tomorrow.
“We’re also telling nightclubs, theatres, cinemas, gyms and leisure centres to close on the same timescale.”
Mr Johnson urged people not to decide to go out one final time on Friday, he said: “Please don’t. You may think you are invincible, but there is no guarantee you will get mild symptoms, and you can still be a carrier of the disease and pass it on to others.”
Following Mr Johnson, the Chancellor announced that the Treasury would step in and help pay wages, for the first time in UK history.
The so-called “coronavirus job retention scheme” will allow companies to apply for a grant from HMRC to cover the wages of people who are not working due to coronavirus shutdowns, but who haven’t been laid off.
It will cover 80% of the salaries of these retained workers, up to £2,500 per month.
Mr Sunak also announced that he is deferring the next quarter of VAT payments due from businesses.
That means no business will pay VAT from now to June, and they’ll have until the end of the financial year to repay those bills.
The Chancellor further announced he would be increasing the Universal Credit standard allowance for the next 12 months by £1,000 a year, and increasing the working tax credit basic element by the same sum.
Mr Sunak said “our planned economic response will be one of the most comprehensive in the world”.
He added: “To all those at home, right now anxious about the days ahead, I say you will not face this alone.”
The announcement came after scientists advising the Government warned that restrictions to control the spread of the virus will need to be in place for most of a year – at least.
The Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling said while the severity of measures could fluctuate, “stricter” measures would need to be enforced for at least half of the year in order to keep cases at a level the NHS can cope with.
These could include school closures and social distancing for everyone, while less restrictive measures include isolating cases and households.
It comes as a further 39 people in England were confirmed to have died after testing positive for Covid-19, bringing the UK death toll to 177.
