Schools and nurseries will close, until further notice, from Friday 20 March 2020
The Prime Minister said that now was the time to take this further action in response to the COVID-19/ coronavirus pandemic, as the virus was peaking earlier than expected.
Testing capacity will be doubled to 25,000 a day, with ongoing work on home-based testing.
Schools will close, except for looking after the children of key workers and vulnerable children.
Public exams will not take place in May and June.
This now coincides with the previous announcements that schools in Scotland and Wales would close from the same day.
The UK deaths have reached 104 after a further 32 people have died in England.
Confirmed cases in the UK rose to 2,626 on Wednesday, from 1,950 on Tuesday. There have been 56,221 tests carried out in the UK for Covid-19, of which 53,595 were confirmed negative.
Boris Johnson emphasised the crucial importance to follow previous advice.
- Whole households to self-isolate for 14 days, not just those showing symptoms
- Avoid gatherings and crowded places, such as pubs, clubs and theatres
- Everyone should work from home if they can
- All “unnecessary” visits to friends and relatives in care homes should cease
- People over 70, pregnant women or those that normally have the flu jab should take particular care to minimise social contact
