Coronavirus: UK at ‘perilous turning point’, says Boris Johnson

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK had reached “a perilous turning point” as he set out new restrictions to combat coronavirus which could last for up to six months.

He told MPs that hospitality businesses would close at 22:00 and weddings would be limited to a maximum of 15 people.

Face masks will be compulsory for retail staff and fines for breaking the rules will increase, he said.

Office workers are also being told to stay at home if they can.

“We always knew that while we might have driven the virus into retreat, the prospect of a second wave was real. I’m sorry to say that, as in Spain and France and many other countries, we’ve reached a perilous turning point,” he said.

After a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee this morning, Mr Johnson told the House of Commons he would provide police and local authorities with extra funding to enforce the regulations and the option to draw on military support.