A survey asking people in the UK if they think schools and workplaces should close due to the coronavirus outbreak has come up with an overwhelming answer - yes they should.
Fifty-nine per cent of respondents to the question on local news and community website In Your Area said they thought schools and workplaces should be shut.
Just 28 per cent thought they should stay open, while 13 per cent said they didn't know. More than 13,000 people took part in the poll.
By region, the vast majority of areas backed closures, with just a handful disagreeing.
The Prime Minister said last week that closures now could do "more harm than good", hours after Ireland announced that schools and colleges would close for a fortnight.
He told a press conference: “We are not – repeat not – closing schools now.
"The scientific advice is it will do more harm than good at this time, but of course we’re keeping an open view and may change this as the disease spreads.
"Schools should only close if they are specifically told to do so.”
Around a quarter of a million people have signed a petition calling for the closure of schools and colleges across the UK.
The petition – Close Schools/Colleges down for an appropriate amount of time amidst COVID19 – asks the government to ‘at least consider’ widespread closures as the number of UK cases of the virus continues to rise.
