Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Boris Johnson has announced a shutdown of all retail apart from food shops and chemists this evening.
The retail shutdown affects tens of thousands of retail businesses across Britain in a bid to stop the rampaging spread of coronavirus.
From now on people will only be allowed to leave their home for shopping for necessities, said Johnson, singling out clothes shops and electrical retailers as non-essential retailers.
The prime minister added that the public will be allowed out for exercise once a day and that police will have the power to intervene where necessary.
Boris Johnson said: “From this evening you must stay at home … at present there are no easy options … in this fight, we can be in no doubt that every one of us is enlisted … the people of this country will rise the challenge”.
>See also: What does the latest Treasury stimulus mean for small business?
Government moves to stop businesses being evicted
The government has stepped in to stop businesses being evicted for non-payment of rent, giving small businesses a three-month lease forfeiture moratorium.
This means that if businesses are unable to pay commercial rent due to the coronavirus shutdown, they will have a