Britain imposes strong restrictions on citizens to leave their homes. Amid the rapid spread of a coronavirus pandemic across the country, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has approved sweeping measures to ban any unnecessary movement of people for at least three weeks. The police will split the assembled people and have the right to fine people who violate strict new laws.

All non-essential stores, libraries, and playgrounds are scheduled to close for three weeks, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced.

Outdoor sports are allowed once a day.

Boris Johnson announced the unprecedented television address to the nation from his Downing Street office 10.

“Without a huge national effort to stop the spread of this virus, there will come a time that no health service in the world can handle. From tonight, I have to give the British people a very simple instruction – you have to stay home”, said Boris Johnson.

Boris Johnson said that people should be allowed to leave their homes for basic needs only: physical exercise, medical reasons, providing care for someone else or traveling to and from work when absolutely necessary.

“That’s all – these are the only reasons why you should leave your home”, he said, adding that people should not meet friends or family members who do not live in their home. “If you do not follow these rules, the police will have the power to impose them, including through fines and broadcasting meetings”, said the British prime minister.

The government will close all stores that sell non-essential goods, including clothing stores and other venues such as libraries, playgrounds, outdoor gyms and places of worship.

Any public events other than funerals will be terminated. The ban also applies to weddings.

“We will stop any gatherings of more than two people in public, except for the people you live with. The parks will remain open for training, but the gatherings will be scattered”, said Boris Johnson.

Tips to stay home and avoid social networking were not heard by millions of people this weekend who took advantage of the sunny weather to gather in parks and scenic spots and ignored instructions to stay at least two meters away from one of the another.

Earlier today, the UK Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on all its citizens traveling abroad for a short period of time to return to the UK “while there are still trade routes to do so”. “Around the world, more airlines are stopping flights and more airports are closing down, some without any warning. Where there are no commercial routes, our employees work around the clock to provide advice and support to UK citizens”, says the statement of Foreign Minister Dominic Raab.

The Foreign Office explained that the instruction was not intended for UK citizens with permanent residence abroad. These Britons must comply with the measures of the countries in which they are located, the agency said.

In the UK today, the government has reported an increase in deaths from 54 to 335 and an increase in those infected to 6,650 from 5,683 on Sunday.

So far, Johnson has relied on persuading people to stop socializing and staying in their homes, saying that this is the best way to save lives by preventing the public health service from collapsing.

Only a few days ago, Prime Minister Johnson tried to convey optimism with his countrymen, saying at his daily briefing that the country could fight the coronavirus if the right measures were taken.

“We can fight the coronavirus in the next 12 weeks, but only if we take the steps we outline”, Boris Johnson told reporters. He later added that he could not say whether the country’s disease cases would begin to decline by the end of June.