AFP
The British government will ban mass gatherings from next week in an attempt to curb the coronavirus outbreak, an escalation of its crisis plan that critics had said was too relaxed. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has so far resisted pressure to take some of the stringent measures adopted by other European countries to slow the spread of the virus. Legislation would be published next week to give the government powers to deal with the outbreak, including to stop mass gatherings and compensate organisations, the source said. Johnson postponed for a year local and mayoral elections in England that had been due to take place in May. As of Friday, Britain had 798 cases of the illness, and 11 people had died.