Coronavirus: London borough announces indefinite closure of all parks

‘Please stay home, save lives,’ Hammersmith and Fulham Council tells residents

A London borough has announced the indefinite closure of all parks due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“All parks in H&F are to close with effect from 7pm tonight, until further notice,’ Hammersmith and Fulham Council tweeted on Saturday afternoon. “Please stay home, save lives.”

The council said it had made the decision unilaterally, and was not told to do so by the government.

“They’ve taken the decision now to close all parks because they’re concerned about public safety,” a spokesperson said.

It is unclear how many other councils, if any at all, are planning to implement similar measures. The Independent has contacted a number of London local authorities and the Greater London Authority for comment.​

Camden Council said it would continue to keep open its parks, which includes Hampstead Heath, but that the situation was “under constant review”.

“We are of course urging residents to maintain the two-metre distance while outside,” a spokesperson said.

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea also said parks would remain open, but that the decision is subject to change.

It comes just hours after a senior minister warned the government would consider an Italian-style lockdown if people fail to follow advice to stay at home during the crisis.

Amid reports of crowds in parks, Robert Jenrick, the communities secretary, told Sky News: “If people don’t follow that advice we’ll clearly have to follow other options, but none of us want to go down that route.”

Sadiq Khan, the capital’s mayor, urged the public to stay home, saying people will die if social distancing rules are flouted.

He told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “Life has changed, we have got to do things differently for a while now. Social interaction leads to the disease spreading, leads to people dying.”

The UK death toll from coronavirus now stands at 240, with London the epicentre of the national outbreak.