Gatherings of more than two people have been banned in the UK (Picture: Reuters)

Gatherings of more than two people have been banned in the UK to stop the spread of Covid-19.

The ban, which excludes people who are in the same household, was one of several lockdown measures announced by Boris Johnson in an evening address to the nation.

He added people would only be able to leave their homes for shopping, one form of exercise a day, any medical need, to provide care or help a vulnerable person, or to go to work.

Updating the nation following a Cobra meeting with cabinet ministers, Johnson said: ‘You should not be meeting friends. If your friends ask you to meet, you should say No.




‘You should not be meeting family members who do not live in your home. You should not be going shopping except for essentials like food and medicine – and you should do this as little as you can. And use food delivery services where you can.’

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

The PM said to ensure compliance with the Government’s instruction to stay at home, they would immediately:

close all shops selling non-essential goods, including clothing and electronic stores and other premises including libraries, playgrounds and outdoor gyms, and places of worship;

stop all gatherings of more than two people in public – excluding people you live with;

stop all social events, including weddings, baptisms and other ceremonies, but excluding funerals.

Parks will remain open for exercise but gatherings will be dispersed.

The Prime Minister warned the NHS would not be able to cope if too many people become unwell due to coronavirus.

He told people they must stay at home to ensure the NHS did not become overwhelmed.

For all the latest news and updates on Coronavirus, click here.

For our Coronavirus live blog click here.

Johnson said: ‘Without a huge national effort to halt the growth of this virus, there will come a moment when no health service in the world could possibly cope; because there won’t be enough ventilators, enough intensive care beds, enough doctors and nurses.

‘And as we have seen elsewhere, in other countries that also have fantastic health care systems, that is the moment of real danger.

‘To put it simply, if too many people become seriously unwell at one time, the NHS will be unable to handle it – meaning more people are likely to die, not just from coronavirus but from other illnesses as well.

‘So it’s vital to slow the spread of the disease.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page.