Londoners have been castigated by authorities for ignoring government warnings to stay home, after thousands flocked to parks to soak up the sunshine.
Such was the deluge of spring revellers to Brockwell Park in Lambeth, South East London, the site has now been closed to any and all visitors - police estimate in excess of 3,000 flocked there on 4th April, many of whom went on to ignore social distancing advice while there.
Lambeth Council said the behaviour was "unacceptable" and the "actions of a minority" had compelled them to close the park.
Police forces across London have issued similar condemnations - in Camden, officials noted scores had been dispersed from Primrose Hill, many of whom had “picnics or blankets” and were anarchically engaged in “sunbathing or catching up with friends”. In Bromley, over a hundred people "socialising in groups" were dispersed.
Queen Elizabeth II is scheduled to make a rare address to the British public on the evening of 5th April - it’s only the fifth time she’s done so since taking the throne in February 1952, aside from her annual Christmas Day speech.
Her first was during the Gulf War, the second and third were held after the deaths of Princess Diana and the Queen Mother, the fourth was during her Diamond Jubilee.
The monarch is expected to speak of the "increasingly challenging time" that has caused "grief to some, financial difficulties to many, and enormous changes to the daily lives of us all”.
The UK, which has 41,903 cases of the disease with 4,313 deaths, is about to enter its third week of lockdown. Government guidance allows for one period of exercise outside per day, while advising against all non-essential travel. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who himself has been diagnosed with COVID-19, released a special message urgings Britons to avoid the "temptation" of the sun over the weekend.