Plans are under way to ban mass gatherings from next week as the Government looks to implement more extreme measures in the fight against Covid-19.

Boris Johnson had faced criticism for not taking such actions, despite similar steps being taken by other European countries as the pandemic worsens.

Emergency legislation bringing in beefed-up powers will be published next week and there could also be a move towards more people working from home, a Whitehall source told PA.

Late on Friday a Whitehall source said: "Ministers are working with the chief scientific adviser and chief medical officer on our plan to stop various types of public event, including mass gatherings, beginning next week.

"We are also talking to businesses and other bodies about the timing of moving towards much more widespread working from home.

"There are many complex considerations to make all these measures as effective as possible.

"We will make the right decisions at the right time based on the best scientific evidence.

"We have drafted emergency legislation to give the Government the powers it needs to deal with coronavirus, including powers to stop mass gatherings and compensate organisations.

"We will publish this legislation next week."

The announcement comes as the UK deals with a rising number of cases of the illness, increasing to 798, and a death toll of 11.

In Hertfordshire, 20 people across the county have tested positive for the virus.

It makes the county the joint third highest local authority alongside Hampshire with  confirmed cases of Covid-19.

The London borough of Kensington and Chelsea has the second highest number of cases with 21, while Oxfordshire has the highest with 22.

Several of the locations of confirmed coronavirus cases in Hertfordshire are known, one of which was recently confirmed by the University of Hertfordshire.

The Hatfield based University released a statement online that a student had tested positive for Covid-19. 

This came shortly after Arsenal confirmed its manager Mikel Arteta tested positive for coronavirus. 

The club had closed its London Colney training ground in Bell Lane in order to give it a "deep clean".

Premier League games have now been suspended until April, meaning today's match between Watford FC and Leicester City has been postponed.

Further recent cases of coronavirus in the county have been confirmed by the East and North Hertfordshire Trust. There is a positive at the Lister Hospital in Stevenage, while a company in Welham Green confirmed in a letter that one of its employees had received a positive test back.

On Monday evening, an elderly coronavirus patient in his 80s with underlying health conditions died at Watford General Hospital.