Latest global Covid-19 lockdown measures
The UK, Germany and Australia have all seen drastic measures enforced in the last 24 hours to help slow the coronavirus pandemic
Last night, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered all cafes, restaurants, pubs and bars to close that evening ‘as soon as they reasonably could’ across all four nations of the kingdom. Nightclubs, leisure centres, gyms and cinemas were also ordered to close as part of the latest social distancing measures which could last for most of the year. The unprecedented move is an attempt to stop workers being laid off due to the crisis and to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, which has claimed the lives of 177 people in the country so far.
In Germany, which has almost 20,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases, schools, pubs, leisure centres and most shops have already been closed, but in Bavaria people are now only allowed to leave their homes to go to work or buy essential provisions. In other parts of the country, restaurants and cafes are closing down over the weekend, and gatherings of more than a couple of people will be banned, as pressure builds to introduce a curfew for the whole country.
Meanwhile in Sydney, police have temporarily closed Bondi Beach after numbers of sunseekers there exceeded the country’s outdoor gathering limit of 500 people. Adjacent Tamarama Beach also saw police called after lifeguards were unable to convince large crowds of people to leave. Australia’s Minister of Health Greg Hunt said the behavior of the beachgoers was ‘unacceptable’ and called on local councils to enforce social distancing advice.