UK to ban mass gatherings from next week to curb virus

LONDON: The British government will ban mass gatherings from next week in an attempt to curb the coronavirus outbreak, an escalation of its crisis plan that critics had said was too relaxed.

Health authorities in England announced on Saturday a further 10 deaths caused by coronavirus, almost doubling the number of fatalities in Britain since Friday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has so far resisted pressure to take some of the stringent measures adopted by other European countries to slow the spread of the virus.

“Ministers are working with the chief scientific adviser and chief medical officer on our plan to stop various types of public events, including mass gatherings, beginning next week,” a government source said.

Legislation would be published next week to give the government powers to deal with the outbreak, including to stop mass gatherings and compensate organisations, the source said.

Some organisations have moved ahead of the government in terms of limiting public gatherings. On Friday, England’s soccer Premier League suspended all matches until April 4 and the London Marathon was postponed by its organisers.

Queen Elizabeth, 93, cancelled some public engagements for next week due to the coronavirus outbreak, Buckingham Palace said on Friday.

Johnson postponed for a year local and mayoral elections in England that had been due to take place in May.

As of Saturday, 21 people had died after testing positive for COVID-19 in Britain.

“All 10 individuals were in the at-risk groups,” Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, said in a statement.

“I understand this increase in the number of deaths linked to COVID-19 will be a cause for concern for many.”