These are the only reasons you can leave your house as lockdown initiated by Prime Minister Boris Johnson

People will now only be allowed out of their homes to buy essential supplies, to exercise once a day, for medical visits or to provide care or to help a vulnerable person, or to travel to and from work.

However employees should only go to work where it is absolutely necessary.

The new UK measures come into effect tonight and will be reviewed in three weeks.

Mr Johnson said: “There are just no easy options. The way ahead is hard, and it is still true that many lives will sadly be lost."

But he added that there is also a "clear way through".

He said: "Day by day we are strengthening our amazing NHS with 7500 former clinicians now coming back to the service.

"With the time you buy – by simply staying at home - we are increasing our stocks of equipment.

"We are accelerating our search for treatments.

"We are pioneering work on a vaccine.

"And we are buying millions of testing kits that will enable us to turn the tide on this invisible killer.

"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.

"And I know that as they have in the past so many times.

"The people of this country will rise to that challenge.

"And we will come through it stronger than ever.

"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."