LONDON – Confusion rippled through Britain Tuesday, a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered a three-week halt to all non-essential activity to fight the spread of the new coronavirus.
Streets were empty but some subways were full. Hairdressers were closed but construction sites were open. Divorced parents wondered whether their children could continue to see them both.
The government has ordered most stores to close, banned gatherings of three or more 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 on Monday evening.