BORIS Johnson has announced a strict three-week lockdown across the UK in order to stop the spread of coronavirus. 

In a move unprecedented in peacetime, the Prime Minister told the nation on Monday evening to stay at home except for 'very limited purposes.'

Nobody is allowed to leave their home except for:

  • shopping for basic necessities, as infrequently as possible;
  • one form of exercise a day - for example a run, walk, or cycle - alone or with members of your household;
  • any medical need, to provide care or to help a vulnerable person; and
  • travelling to and from work, but only where this is absolutely necessary and cannot be done from home.

Mr Johnson said: "You should not be meeting friends. If your friends ask you to meet, you should say No.

"You should not be meeting family members who do not live in your home."

"I want to thank everyone who is working flat out to beat the virus. Everyone from the supermarket staff to the transport workers to the carers to the nurses and doctors on the frontline.

"But in this fight, we can be in no doubt that each and every one of us is directly enlisted. Each and every one of us is now obliged to join together to halt the spread of this disease. To protect our NHS and to save many many thousands of lives.

"We will beat the coronavirus and we will beat it together. And therefore I urge you at this moment of national emergency to stay at home, protect our NHS and save lives."