Architects are divided on whether sites should remain open, as government ministers confirmed construction was an exception to the prime minister’s lockdown rules announced last night.

Many question whether social distancing is possible on sites, with a series of photographs posted on social media by workers yesterday showing how crowded sites and canteens are.

Some construction leaders are calling for the government to close sites immediately and for a short time last night that appeared to be what Boris Johnson was doing when he announced an unprecedented tightening of the stay-at-home policy. Then housing minister Robert Jenrick tweeted that sites could stay open as long as workers stuck to social distancing rules, a decision confirmed by Michael Gove on the BBC this morning.

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