LONDON, UK – Costa Coffee was the latest major chain to announce the closing of all of its stores on Monday, a few hour before the Boris Johnson’s dramatic announcement of a full coronavirus lockdown with the British public ordered to stay at home.
Costa bosses made the decision in a bid to protect customers and staff from coronavirus, which continues to spread across UK.
The announcement followed news that McDonald’s and Nando’s were also closing for the foreseeable future.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the decision after a surge in coronavirus cases suggested that the UK was just two weeks behind the level of outbreak in Italy.
“From this evening, I must give the British people a very simple instruction — you must stay at home,” Johnson said in a televised statement from his Downing Street residence.
The prime minister announced that from Monday evening, the British people would be allowed to leave home for only the following “very limited purposes” – to do essential work, exercise, or buy food or medicine.
All nonessential shops, premises, and places of worship will be closed down, with weddings and baptisms banned.
The UK has so far recorded at least 6,650 coronavirus cases and 335 deaths.
