Yesterday the Prime Minister chaired COBR and updated the British people on the Government’s ongoing response to Covid-19.

The Government’s overriding aim is to save lives and minimise suffering – we will be led by the best scientific advice.

Now is the time for everyone to stop non-essential contact with others and to stop all unnecessary travel. This advice is particularly important for people over 70, for pregnant women and for those with some health conditions.

Combating this virus will require a huge national effort. We must do all we can to save lives, protect the NHS and keep the most vulnerable people in our society safe.

Moving forward with our plan:

Now is the time for everyone to stop non-essential contact with others and to stop all unnecessary travel.

We need people to start working from home where they possibly can, and you should avoid pubs, clubs, theatres and other social venues, such as gathering with families and friends outside of your own home.

This advice is particularly important for people over 70, for pregnant women and for those with some health conditions.

If you, or anyone in your household, has either a high temperature or a new and continuous cough, then you should stay at home for fourteen days. That means that if possible you should not go out even to buy food or essentials, other than for exercise, and in that case at a safe distance from others. If necessary, you should ask for help from others for your daily necessities. And if that is not possible, then you should do what you can to limit your social contact when you leave the house to get supplies.

From today, the Government will no longer be supporting mass gatherings with emergency workers as it normally would.