Government set to clampdown London close pubs over warning to ‘stay at home’

Boris Johnson chaired another COBRA emergency meeting on Friday morning in making urgent decisions to protect Londoners and the NHS from being overwhelmed as they are on the brink.

An NHS London hospital have said they are so overwhelmed they are forced to turn coronavirus patients away to other hospitals.

In the first wave of lockdown measures all pubs, restaurants, cinemas and gyms will be forced to close to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Non-essential shops could close to prevent customer handling items which then passes on the virus, but supermarkets and pharmacies will not close in the first wave of the London lockdown.

Matt Hancock the Health Secretary said “In the emergency Bill that’s in front of Parliament right now, we are taking the powers to be able to enforce these measures, so we can make it happen by law if we need to.

“I’d rather not do that and the evidence so far is that the vast majority of people are following the advice, are doing what is sensible and right.”

Hancock said on Friday the government are ramping up the appeal to all Britons to “stay at home” to save lives.

Hancock told TalkRadio, “If you stay at home, you are saving lives.

“I know, of course, this is a more dangerous disease for older people but not exclusively, some young people get it too.”

Despite the governments clear message to all people to avoid all pubs and restaurants and implement “social distancing” many are not listening.

Wes Streeting, chairman of the London group of Labour MPs, told the Evening Standard, “The government must now take more direct action by ordering their closure and providing income protection for the workers affected.”

Sadiq Khan the Mayor of London said on Question Time there are already believed to be tens of thousands of infected Londoners as the death toll rapidly climbs across the capital.

Khan said, “This advice is designed to save lives, and it’s absolutely vital that all Londoners strictly follow the advice.”

Khan has warned all Londoners to stop using “public transport now” to halt the rapid spread of coronavirus across the capital.

Latest figures show that more than 55 Londoners have died from coronavirus and the latest report from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) is alarming.

The SAGE report written on Monday and published on Friday, suggests that for every one death across London there could be thousands of infected Londoners.

This latest scientific report has evidence that allegedly dismisses the governments advice.

A well-known Italian doctor and politician has warned why London will be hardest hit area in the UK.

In an interview with Express.co.uk, Maurizio Brucchi, a renowned Italian doctor who also served as Mayor of Teramo, gave a stark warning to Londoners, the worst is yet to come.

Brucchi said, “In a press conference yesterday, the doctors who have arrived from Wuhan [China] to help us out have told us that our measures are not enough – that we need to be more restrictive.

“The numbers are growing, but what is concerning is that there have been more than 475 deaths in a day.