UK tells pubs, bars to close from Friday night

 UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday ordered all cafes, pubs and restaurants to close from Friday night, except for take-away food, to tackle coronavirus.

All the UK's nightclubs, theatres, cinemas, gyms and leisure centres have also been told to close "as soon as they reasonably can", he said at a press conference here, the BBC reported.

Johnson said the measures would be enforced "strictly".

He urged people not to go out on Friday night, stressing: "For now, at least physically, we need to keep people apart."

"The more effectively we follow the advice we are given, the faster this country will stage both a medical and an economic recovery in full," he added.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who was also present at the press conference, has said the government will pay 80 per cent of wages for employees who are not working, up to 2,500 pounds a month.

The announcement about closures follows similar measures taken in other countries - including in Ireland, where pubs and bars were asked to close from last Sunday.

There have been 167 deaths in England from the coronavirus outbreak, as well as six in Scotland, three in Wales and one in Northern Ireland. IANS