UK govt closes down social life as coronavirus outbreak accelerates

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday shut down social life in Britain and ordered the elderly infirm to isolate for 12 weeks, ramping up the battle against the coronavirus outbreak just as it accelerates towards it peak.

Johnson had faced a backlash after his government took a less stringent approach to tackling the virus than countries such as Italy, France and Spain which have effectively locked down much of Europe.

In a sharp toughening of Britain's approach to the outbreak, Johnson closed down any remaining social life in the world's fifth largest economy and ordered those over 70 with underlying health problems