Drinkers facing pub lockdown turn to digital drinking by catching up with mates on WhatsApp, Zoom and Instagram Live for a jar and a chat
- Brits are mourning the closure of pubs on the first weekend of lockdown
- Instead, many are turning to apps to enjoy a virtual drink with their friends
- Apps such as Zoom and HouseParty are enjoying a boom in popularity
- Boris Johnson announced the closure of pubs to stop the spread of coronavirus
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
Thirsty Brits desperate for a pint with their friends are turning to ‘digital drinking’ to keep spirits high during the coronavirus lockdown.
Boris Johnson announced the closure of pubs across the country yesterday but that has not stopped many enjoying a tipple or two from their separate houses.
Instead of meeting up and potentially spreading the virus, friends are instead enjoying virtual drinks together via their phones.
Boris Johnson announced the closure of pubs across the country yesterday but that has not stopped many enjoying a tipple or two from their respective homes
Apps such as WhatsApp, Zoom and HouseParty allow users to hold conversations with a number of their friends at once, allowing housebound Britons to keep touch with each other during their isolation.
Ed, 25, from London, joked to MailOnline: ‘Now the pubs are closed and I can’t leave my house, how else am I supposed to drown my sorrows during this crisis.’
While Charlie, also 25 from London, said: ‘They can take away my freedom but they can never take away my beers.’
Zoom, an app which hosts video conferencing, is now one of the most downloaded apps in the world as employees working from home and isolated friends look to connect with each other.
Many countries around the world have enforced rigid lockdowns and banned the use of pubs, clubs, cafes and restaurants in an effort to stymie the spread of the deadly covid-19.
British shoppers are also finding many alcohol aisles empty in the wake of the pub ban.
Housebound Brits are still managing to enjoy a drink with their friends despite the coronavirus isolation and pub shutdowns
Alcohol aisles are now being stripped bare by panic buyers after Boris Johnson closed pubs and restaurants in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus. Pictured is an empty alcohol aisle at a Tesco in Hartlepool
Boozy tipples have replaced toilet paper as the must-have product for customers who are continuing to go on frenzied shopping sprees despite warnings from the government to stop panic buying amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The alcohol aisles in a Tesco in Hartlepool were noticeably stark this morning after the Prime Minister ordered the closure of all pubs, restaurants and cafes yesterday.
Britons woke up to a shut-down nation today after Boris Johnson ordered all pubs, restaurants, clubs, gyms and cinemas to close in a drastic ramping up of measures to stem the spread of the deadly infection, which has so far killed 233 and infected 4,145.
One man was pictured stocking up on crates of beer outside a supermarket in Southampton this morning
The alcohol aisles in a Tesco in Hartlepool were noticeably stark this morning after the Prime Minister ordered the closure of all pubs, restaurants and cafes yesterday