UK in a state of confusion amid virus clampdown

LONDON — Confusion rippled through Britain on Tuesday, a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered a three-week halt to all nonessential activity to fight the spread of the new coronavirus.

Streets were empty but some subways were full.

The government has ordered most stores to close, banned gatherings of more than two people who don’t live together and told everyone apart from essential workers to leave home only to buy food and medicines or to exercise.

“You must stay at home,” Johnson said in a somber address to the nation Monday.

But even as the U.K. recorded its biggest single-day increase in COVID-19 deaths, commuters crowded onto London subway trains Tuesday, amid confusion about who was still allowed to go to work.

In Libya: The national oil company said economic fallout from a protracted blockade of its vital oil facilities has resulted in losses surpassing $3.5 billion at a time when the war-torn country is struggling to prevent COVID-19.

The National Oil Corp., which dominates Libya’s critical oil industry, reported that production had been reduced to 95,837 barrels per day as of Sunday. Powerful tribes loyal to Libya’s easternbased forces seized large export terminals and choked off major pipelines in January, aiming to starve the Tripoli-based government of crucial revenue.

The $3.5 billion in losses date to Jan. 17, with daily losses at more than $1.1 million.