In a news conference today, Boris Johnson has urged people to work from home and avoid going out to bars and pubs in a bid to slow the spread of coronavirus.
The Prime Minister said in a statement: "It is now clear that the peak of the epidemic is coming, faster in some parts of the country than in others.
"It looks as though London is a few weeks ahead."
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He emphasised that the government, from tomorrow, will no longer support mass gatherings involving emergency workers and all 'non essential' contact should be stopped, including catching up with friends for drinks.
However, the government will not close places such as bars and restaurants. Despite having the power to do so the government feels this isn't necessary just yet.
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Adding: "Now is the time for everyone to stop non-essential contact with others and to stop all unnecessary travel."
He continued that people with serious health conditions should isolate themselves for 12 weeks.
Commenting that London is a few weeks ahead, he added that Londoners "must pay special attention to what we are saying about avoiding non-essential travel."
He wants everyone to take "drastic action" to tackle the "fast growth" of coronavirus. If we don't take cases could "double every five or six days," he continued.
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He's taking action to give the NHS "a chance to cope".
The key points of his speech added that anyone who has a cough or temperature should stay at home for 14 days and people should start to work from home where possible.
We should all also avoid pubs and clubs, theatres and social venues and only use the NHS when we need to.
However, schools have still not been advised to close.
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He said: "We think at the moment it's much better if we can keep schools open, for all sorts of reasons, but we also accept it's something we need to keep under review."
The government's chief scientific advisor, Patrick Vallance again reiterated that these sorts of closures "need to be done at the right time in the right way, at the right stage of the outbreak."
Chief Medical Adviser Prof Chris Whitty added that whilst chances of death from the virus are low, they are aiming to keep the number as low as possible.
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But he continued that whilst some will die directly from the virus, there will also be a "significant number" of other deaths due to hospitals being overwhelmed.
This government announcement follows Virgin Atlantic telling its staff to take eight weeks unpaid leave due to the lack of demand for air travel because of coronavirus.
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