Coronavirus: Watford town centre deserted as people stay home

Pubs, bars and restaurants were closed tonight (Saturday), with normally busy areas in the town centre practically a ghost town as the UK remains on lockdown.

It has been just a few days since Prime Minister Boris Johnson – who himself tested positive for coronavirus yesterday – announced that people should only leave their homes to exercise once a day, travel for essential work and shop for essential items.

Areas in the town centre where non-essential businesses are based were much quieter than usual, with just a few people spotted in High Street this evening.

Pictures show Watford town centre like a ghost town this evening

Those who were out kept a respectful distance away from each other in line with the Government’s advice, while police were also on patrol in the town centre this evening.

At the lower end of High Street, supermarkets such as M&S Foodhall and Tesco Express were open.

But in line with the Government’s new measures, food chains such as McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC and other non-essential stores were closed in the town centre.

Several food chains were closed

In The Parade at the further end of High Street, Nandos, Colombia Press and other bars, shops and restaurants were also closed, with barely any people seen in this area of town.

Roads were also quiet this evening, with hardly any cars driving on the A41 or the M1.

Other roads in and around Watford such as the ring road and Stephenson Way were also very quiet.

As of 9am March 28, 262 people in Hertfordshire have tested positive for coronavirus.

Across the UK just over 17,000 people have tested positive for Covid-19, with 1,019 people who contracted the virus confirmed to have died, according to Public Health England.