Has UK government announced mandatory leave for workplaces on March 6th? Fact Check

ByCraig Haley

Messages on social media claim the UK government announced measures to force all workplaces with over 10 employees to have paid mandatory leave for two weeks from March 6th amid the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak.

Subsequent versions of the message also claims all schools will close for two weeks as well.

FALSE

An example is below.

The Government have announced measures that all workplaces with 10 employees or more are to have paid mandatory leave to avoid the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus starting from March 6, 2020.
All schools are to close for 2 weeks also from March 6th
Offices will resume after 2 weeks of the mandatory closure.
A list of all schools and businesses in your area is shown on the list.
Read the full article here:

The messages are intended as a joke, since the attached link leads to an image of a gorilla “swearing” at the camera.

However, many on social media are attaching the message above to a BBC Breaking News preview image, leading other social media users to take the message at face value without clicking the link to reveal the joke.

As such, the message is false. No such announcement by the government has been issued.

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