in the amount customers have spent. this chocolate chain has temporarily closed quieter shops and shifted staff to online in the run—up to mother's day. shops up and down the country are seeing a broad reduction in footfall but we are seeing a marked, 100% plus increase in shopping on our online channel. does the online increase make up for the loss of physical sales? um, not wholly, no. it offsets it. but right now, being online is a bigger advantage than ever. firms who are reliant on people coming into their shops or venues face an unhappy mother's day. katy austin, bbc news. we are expecting to hear from the prime minister boris johnson we are expecting to hear from the prime minister borisjohnson very shortly, and we will go to that downing street news conference. in the meantime, our news correspondent

richard galpin is here. you cannot miss how many people having out and about at this time of the year despite social distancing stop yes, i noticed that my self enrichment park. very large numbers of people, lots of vehicles going through. at times it did not look like people we re times it did not look like people were doing the social distancing, keeping a part by at least two metres from other people. we are hearing now that a number of parks in london have been closing. we think richmond, but i am not sure of that. but also a swathes of parks across london. also, the national trust is saying it is going to close all of its parks. i presume that then would be nationwide as far as the national trust is concerned. then the issue is we have had a whole series of increasingly stacked m essa 9 es whole series of increasingly stacked messages about what we all need to do to slow the spread of the virus,

yet it would appear that many people are flouting that kind of advice. it will be interesting to see what the prime minister said shortly. that is why we are getting more severe measures. it is quite a difficult thing to do, to be honest. but it is crucial that you need to keep two metres apart, and it does not seem that that is happening. we have heard from siddique khan, begging people to stay at home. the official guidance does not say that. it indicates it is all right to go out and go fora indicates it is all right to go out and go for a walk. but it seems the numbers of people doing that has been extraordinary. maybe people just want a last breath of fresh air before things get really difficult. i was brought up in north wales and my family i was brought up in north wales and myfamily are i was brought up in north wales and my family are around there in snowden, in the snowdonia area, and thousands of people have been going into the mountains. as far as the nhs is concerned, a particular

concern for those who are the most vulnerable, and these letters are going out to more than a million people. it is 1.5 million people, a huge number. letters are going out presumably as we speak, and text messages, telling them they need that to stay—at—home and stay indoors at all times as far as i understand it, for the next three months. so for 12 weeks. this is for people who are at the biggest risk with chronic conditions and who are very vulnerable to the coronavirus. but it is a massive ask, for people to lock themselves away without any social contact for three months. the government is saying this is needed to try and shield them from the virus. it will obviously save lives, but there is a big question about whether people will be able to put up whether people will be able to put up with that. it is such a fast moving situation, day by day really,

but it is just a week since boris johnson announced the advice on social distancing, so it has been around for awhile, and yet people are struggling with it. we have had an increase in the number of deaths and infections this country. the infection rate is accelerating and this is what the experts and everybody is really worried about. you get this graph that gets steeper and steeper, and you end up in a situation like italy, which yesterday had 800 people dying in a single day. the pace of this spread is really quite incredible and very difficult. the key thing that the authorities are trying to do is stop the nhs from being completely overwhelmed because if we have that, we will be in an incredibly bad place. stay with us, richard, we will come back to you shortly. we are expecting to hear from boris

johnson in a live news conference in the next few moments. volunteers up and down the uk are pulling together to help vulnerable people cope with the coronavirus crisis. a small village shop in wiltshire is organising an army of helpers who will deliver groceries across the community. fiona lamdin reports. 26—year—old alex is a busy mum of four but is determined to help her community in wiltshire. this is one where someone is asking for some baby milk, and this person said, i've got this, unopened, it's free, you can have it if you like. she set up a facebook group and within hours, 1000 people had joined it. somebody was self isolating and they had no pasta so i took it to them. show me your pasta, did you have some? yes, i took it from my, i had some spare pasta. this is a bag of pasta that i took out yesterday so that her family could then have a warm meal with pasta. and alex has also volunteered to deliver food from her local shop out to those in isolation.

hello, i've come to get a delivery. the phones haven't stopped ringing, now more and more people are self now that more and more people are self isolating. locally or are in the age range that are advised to stay at home, the phone hasn't stopped ringing. so it's really, really busy for us. three streets away, we meet tony, who is self isolating. i'm 85, my wife is 82. we've both got mobility problems, my wife, far more serious than mine. so we really can't take part in fighting for stuff on the shelves and things like that. so we're just ordering what we actually need, as we go on. and it's notjust alex looking out for others. can we have some essentials in about five bags, bread, milk, toilet roll, etc for some of these that can't get out? we can, toilet roll might be a problem but we will try. this supermarket and this care agency, neighbours on the high street. but this is the first time they've worked together.

they support 90 elderly people who are now stuck at home. they think that you're going to walk in with it and contract it as you're going in, that you can go into a supermarket and they think that you've got it. they're just very, very frightened. we're not going to let them down, they will still get everything that they need, they're not on their own, they've got us. we have become, because we're community based, the fifth emergency service. as the days and weeks go by, many will be leaning on their communities in ways they've never needed to do before. fiona lamdin, bbc news. in the last few moments we have had more figures through on the number of uk infections and the number of deaths from the coronavirus. richard, you have been looking at these figures, what do we know?m has increased to 281 deaths, that is

an increase of a7. the number of cases has gone up as an increase of a7. the number of cases has gone up as well, and that is round about 5700. the numbers are continuing to go up at quite a considerable speed. these figures come before the next news conference thatis come before the next news conference that is scheduled to start from downing street with the prime minister. this has been a day when we have seen more measures being announced in european countries, increasingly stringent restrictions on movement. spain will bar most foreigners from its land borders and airports. there is a question about whether the uk strategy is in line with what is happening in other european countries and whether we are being too slow in what we are bringing in. that has been all along, right from the beginning of this in the uk. i think it is right that has happened. the question now is just how far the government will

go. will they be the kind of enforcement? the london mayor was talking about that, that there will be emergency powers going through parliament, which will give the police powers to stop people who they thought may have symptoms, or who have the coronavirus disease. those are all really big questions and the government has shied away from that. they don't want to use force. but we know there have been preparations for that if necessary. we heard earlier today from the scottish first minister, nicola sturgeon, who was very clear that emergency legislation would be used if necessary for example to close down pubs that are not taking the advice to close. and also being very clear that her advice is there should be no unnecessary contact between people. it is essential if you want to break the chain of transmission of this disease, you have to do that. richard, just stop

there a minute. thank you everybody, for coming again. iwant thank you everybody, for coming again. i want to thank everybody in the country today for the whole effort we are collectively making. i wa nt to effort we are collectively making. i want to thank the amazing workers in the nhs, everybody working in social care, in every sector, food distribution, transport, you name it. absolutely everybody who is keeping this country going today. i wa nt to keeping this country going today. i want to thank everyone who is being forced, of course, to do something differently today. everyone who didn't visit their mum for mother's day, but skype them, face time and rang them instead. thank you for your restraint in what you did. everybody he was forced to close a pep-up everybody he was forced to close a pop—up restaurant, or a gym, or any

other business, bar that could have done a fantastic business on a great date like this. thank you for your sacrifice. i know how tough it must be. ican sacrifice. i know how tough it must be. i can tell you once again, this government will be standing behind you, behind british business, behind british workers, employees, the self employed, throughout this crisis. and the reason we are taking these unprecedented steps both to prop up businesses, support business and support our economy and these preventive measures, is of course, we have to slow the spread of the disease and to save thousands of lives. today, we have come to the stage of our plan that i advertised at the outset when we first set out the plan of the uk government. when we now have to take special steps to protect the particularly vulnerable. you will remember i said the moment would come when we needed to shield

those with serious conditions. there are probably about 1.5 million in all. ina are probably about 1.5 million in all. in a minute, robertjenrick will set out the plan in detail. but this shielding will do more than any other single measure that we are setting out to save life. and that is what we want to do. also, to reduce infection and to slow the spread of the disease. i want to say just a couple of other things. we have to do more to make sure that the existing measures that we are taking are having the effect that we want. so it is crucial that people understand tomorrow that the schools are closed and tomorrow you should not send your child to school, u nless not send your child to school, unless you have been identified as a key worker. and, more generally in view of the way people have

responded over the last few days to the measures that we have set out, i wa nt to the measures that we have set out, i want to say a bit more about how we interact outdoors. 0f want to say a bit more about how we interact outdoors. of course, i want, of course i do, people to be able to go to the parks, open spaces and enjoy themselves. it is crucial for health, physical and mental well—being. but please follow the advice and don't think that fresh air in itself automatically provides some immunity. you have to stay two metres apart, you have to follow the social distancing advice. even if you think that you are personally invulnerable, there are plenty of people you can infect and whose lives will then be put at risk. i say this now and sunday afternoon, sunday evening, take this advice

seriously. follow it. because it is absolutely crucial and, as i have said throughout this process, we will keep the implementation of these measures under constant review and, yes of course, we will bring forward further measures if we think thatis forward further measures if we think that is necessary. so always remember in following this advice, andi remember in following this advice, and i know how difficult it is, but a lwa ys and i know how difficult it is, but always remember that each and every one of us, you are doing your bit in following this advice. you are doing your bit to slow the spread of the disease and the more we collectively slow the spread, the more time we give the nhs to prepare, the more lives we will save and the faster we will get through this and always remember, we will get through this and we will beat it and we will beat it together. next, robertjenrick,

to outline the shielding measures we are going to be bringing forward in the next few days. robert. thank you, prime minister. good afternoon. asa you, prime minister. good afternoon. as a nation we are confronted with the need to make big changes and enormous sacrifices to our daily lives. this is especially true mother's day when many others would wa nt mother's day when many others would want nothing more than to be at home with our loved ones in person. in recent weeks, heroic workers in the nhs, social care and public services and local government and many others, have been shouldering the country's burden. i think we owe it to them and the most vulnerable in society to stay at home, to protect the nhs. and by doing this, to save lives. and as the prime minister said, and our response from the outset to the virus has been guided by scientific evidence and our action plan set out the

interventions that would be required to be deployed at the right time. and so today, we have to go further and shield the most clinically vulnerable people to help save their lives. following the chief medical officer's guidance, the nhs has identified up to 1.5 million people in england who face the highest risk of being hospitalised by the virus. the nhs will be contacting these people in the coming days, urging them to stay—at—home for a period of at least 12 weeks. i know that many people will want to know whether this applies to them. this will include people who are living with severe respiratory conditions, specific cancers, such as of the blood or bone marrow. those who have received organ transplants and some, though not all, of those receiving

certain types of immunosuppressant drug treatments. the full list of conditions is now online at guv that uk forwards coronavirus. i don't underestimate what we are asking of people. it will be tough. but if you are one of these people, i want to reassure you on behalf of the government, that you are not alone. we will be ready throughout to support you. and let me set out what we are doing and how it is to work. this week, the nhs will contact people by letter, identified of being at higher risk of severe illness from coronavirus. this will also be followed up, where possible, by text message and phone call. we be asking these people not to leave home at all, avoid face—to—face contact home at all, avoid face—to—face co nta ct for home at all, avoid face—to—face contact for 12 weeks, all protect

themselves. i know people will worry about what this means for family members and four carers. for those without family and friends and neighbours close by. they will worry about how they will be able to receive medicines and essential supplies. and i know people will feel anxious about supporting their mental health as well as their physical health. so let me address those concerns. 0thers physical health. so let me address those concerns. others in the household will not be required to adopt these protective shielding measures for themselves. however, they must follow the public health england guidance on social distancing. carers, both formaland informal, can continue to visit but they must follow the additional measures set out by public health england. the people who do not have support in place around them, who don't have a network of family and

friends close by, we will be creating a network of local hubs covering the whole country. this will require a major effort in a very short period of time. medicines will be delivered by community pharmacists. groceries and essential household items will be delivered by local councils and food distributors, working with supermarkets to ensure that nobody needs to worry about getting the food and essential items that they will need. these parcels will be left on the doorstep. the government, the food industry, community pharmacies, local councils and emergency services are working round—the—clock to get this scheme off the ground. members of the armed forces are already supporting this effort. including some of the finest military planners in the world. the prime minister and i are very

grateful to everybody who has been involved and will be involved, playing their part in making this happen. i know that many people watching at home will want to volunteer once this service is established. there will be opportunities and everybody can contribute in different ways. in every city, in every town and village there is a huge amount of work to be done and each of us has the power to do it. we need to remember our neighbours when we shop, we need to pick up the phone for a chat with loved ones. we need to display small acts of kindness, of thoughtfulness, of love and compassion. this will be a very worrying time for people with these health conditions. but whilst more people will be required to be by themselves at home, and that's difficult, let's guarantee that they are never alone. and when all of

this is done, that we emerge as better neighbours to each other, as stronger communities and that we are all proud of the part that we played in this effort. thank you. thanks, robert. i am sure there will be some questions and i'm happy to answer those. at first to highlight this is a hugely complex task clinically, to identify these individuals. we are asking them to take themselves out of society for 12 weeks, and that is no small ask. the measures you have just heard recognise that difficult balance. in doing that, we have worked with the royal college of general practitioners, nhs digital, the medical royal colleges and with secondary care commissions as well. i want to offer my thanks to them and they will continue to work with us over the next week or two while

we refine the individual list. i think the second point was just to note that for any of the public listening who might be in this group, because we want to be as inclusive as possible, we may actually slightly over overestimate the numberof actually slightly over overestimate the number of individuals and they will be the opportunity to discuss their individual conditions going forward. it is possible an individual might receive a letter which has been digitally constructed, because that is the quickest way to identify individuals. but we recognise also that the person at the end of the digital number is an individual living their lives and their condition changes on a regular basis. it may be somebody will receive a letter from a clinic as well. this is part of the plan to ensure that we contact all of those who need to be in this group. and thenl who need to be in this group. and then i think the final point ijust wa nt then i think the final point ijust want to make is, whilst we are

asking these individuals to be isolated very firmly, many of them have very, very complex conditions, or they would not be in this group. ijust want or they would not be in this group. i just want to assure or they would not be in this group. ijust want to assure them the normal services which they have from clinicians or from other care systems will continue. and on an individual basis, they will either receive care at home for more virtual means, where it is appropriate, or arrangements will be made to bring them safely into clinical areas where they can be managed. they should not worry that theircare managed. they should not worry that their care will continue. thank you, jenny. let's go to some questions. vicki young, bbc. the prime minister, you said we are two, three weeks behind italy and we need to make a national collective effort to stop the nhs being overwhelmed. at the moment you are still advising people to follow these measures rather than imposing them. ijust wondered what evidence you are basing that on given that it is clear that some people are not

listening and just a quick question on the courts, they are still going to be open tomorrow and why is that? first on the courts, quickly. many courts are already using video trials, using remote technology to do their business. but we keeping that under constant review. 0n do their business. but we keeping that under constant review. on your point about where we are in the balance of prohibition and allowing people to enjoy themselves outside. let's be absolutely clear, we have already taken some very draconian steps. we have closed the schools, closed a huge swathe of the uk economy, bars, pubs, clubs, restau ra nts, economy, bars, pubs, clubs, restaurants, theatres and so on. a huge quantity of our normal daily life has been totally transformed. it is very important for people's mental and physical well—being that they should be able to get out and exercise if they possibly can. many,

many people do not have access, let's face it, to private green space where they can do that. and thatis space where they can do that. and that is why parks, open spaces are so absolutely crucial for our country and for our society. but when we do that, we have to do it responsibly. so our message to people, the message i want to get over tonight, because we have all seen how people have been enjoying themselves over a beautiful weekend, but my message is, you have got to do this in line with the advice. you have got to follow the social distancing rule and keep two metres apart. 0therwise, if you don't do it responsibly, people don't exercise responsibly, people don't exercise responsibly in the parks and green spaces, then, as you suggest, there is going to be no doubt that we will have to bring forward further measures and we are certainly keeping that under constant review. sam coates, sky. robertjenrick, you

will be asking 1.5 million people to do something completely unprecedented. i want to ask about the practicalities. first of all, are you saying there is a government guarantee, local government, national government, that anybody who needs food and medicine will be supplied it in this group? what can people expect? will they get a telephone number to call when they get this letter? who do they let know they have run out of things? how will it work on a practical level? are you relying on the state or effectively the big society which whisks gaps or effectively the big society which whisks gaps opening up? prime minister, i whisks gaps opening up? prime minister, lam whisks gaps opening up? prime minister, i am confused by government guidance. i want to focus in on one example again, which is playgrounds. siddique khan says do not go out unless absolutely necessary. you have got stay—at—home on your podium there. the communities secretary this morning said you can go to playgrounds,

providing children distance themselves from one another. have you ever ta ken themselves from one another. have you ever taken a child to a playground and successfully convinced a five—year—old to stay two metres away from another five—year—old on a piece of equipment? isn't there a reason why ireland closed their playgrounds? doesn't that show how people are taking mixed messages away from what you are saying? deputy chief medical 0fficer, you are saying? deputy chief medical officer, the graphs showing that the uk has more deaths at this stage than italy are terrifying. is there anything that you can say for people looking at those numbers and wondering? well, the nhs will be writing to 1.5 million people and these letters should start to land on individuals' doormats from tuesday of this coming week. the letter wi ll tuesday of this coming week. the letter will give a website and a phone number and those will be live by the time that individuals receive the letters. they will be able to

use those services to alert us if they feel they don't have family, friends, neighbours, and existing support network, to help them to get the medicines, food and supplies that they need. we imagine a large number of people will have the support network around them. this is specifically designed to step in for those people who do not have that, who are isolated, and who would need our support as a government and as a society. we will be working with local councils who have already set up local councils who have already set up their hubs with the support of the armed forces to ensure it is a well—organised mission mission logistically. they will be working with supermarkets and national food distributors to get the products to their homes. we hope we will be having the first parcels arriving towards the end of next week if individuals need them to that timetable. i do not underestimate how difficult this is as a challenge. nobody has tried to do

this before. it will take time and we hope people will bear with us and this will be an iterative process. the first food parcels will inevitably be fairly generic, although we will take account of people's medical and dietary requirements. in time we hope to refine this into a more sophisticated product which is better for people and better response to the individual needs. thanks, robert. just, sam, remember where we have been. we are trying to listen absolutely scrupulously to the scientific and medical advice. they have said so far is the health benefits for the whole of society of keeping the parks and the playgrounds open if we possibly can outweigh the epidemiological value of closing them. but, of course, looking at the way people behave, at the way they are responding, we keep that under constant, constant

review. if people cannot make use of parks and playgrounds responsibly, you make a very good point about kids, but if they cannot do it in a way that observes the two metre rule, then of course we are going to have to look at further measures. the general principle should be that we should all, as far as we possibly can, stay home, protect our nhs and thereby save lives. so, responding to your comments about the number of deaths. obviously any death is a sad event and it is really difficult for us to contemplate the fact that we will have many more in this country, just as we have seen in other countries. we are expecting that. the actions today particularly are focused precisely on avoiding those additional deaths, that is the main

purpose of the shielding task, not the reduction in numbers, but the reduction in deaths. it makes it even more important that we are taking this action. there is a general comment that i alluded to before in expectation of those numbers. when you start counting deaths and the percentage, i have just done a very quick sum about our current position, and if you calculated italy's case fatality rate now it is about 10% and hours is 496, rate now it is about 10% and hours is a%, actually we think overall and we still think it should be about 196. we still think it should be about 1%. what both of these numbers demonstrate is the numbers you get change throughout the course of an epidemic and it changes very much on how you count the cases as well. as you go through a very sharp rise in numbers, which we will see going forward , numbers, which we will see going forward, you have to be careful not to be comparing to precisely because at the moment in this country we are

counting the most significant disease, and it would look as if our case rates, our death rates, are increasing. we know that is what will happen. it is a reminder to say we will look back in due course, sadly, and see the true number of people who have died from coronavirus, but a direct comparison with another country and against individual numbers is something we should be very cautious of as we go through the epidemic. thanks, jenny. jess from itv. in speaking about social distancing and the two metre rule you have spoken about, it is obvious from a lot of the images we are seeing across this weekend that are seeing across this weekend that a lot of people are not adhering to that. you have spoken about further measures potentially being introduced. could you explain to us what you think those further measures might be and when you would consider implementing them? and also, itv news has heard from one

doctor who says her hospital is already running out of ventilators and that people as young as in their 305 and 405 are waiting to get into intensive care and she fear5 they may in fact die before they are treated. do you believe there are enough ventilators and how treated. do you believe there are enough ventilators and how fast our hospital is going to get more? well, first of all, jess, on ventilators, we think a good supply at the moment but we need to get far more. you are absolutely right. that is why there is huge, national effort to equip ourselves with not just ventilators, but the testing kits, the reagents, all the staff that we are going to need to beat this disease. i will askjenny to say a bit more about the particular hospital you mentioned and the threat there. i am not aware of that particular issue. 0n social distancing and the further

measures we may bring in, i don't think you need to use your imagination very much to see where we might have to go. we will think about these very actively in the next 2a hours. we need to think about the kinds of measures we have seen elsewhere in other countries, other countries being forced to bring in restrictions on movement altogether. as i say, i don't want to do that because i have tried to explain the public health benefits, the benefits to people's mental and physical well—being and that you can go out. it is so important that that pleasure and ability is preserved, but it can only be preserved if everybody acts responsibly and conforms with those principles of staying apart from one another and social distancing. i know it is hard, but that is the best way forward. if we can't do that, i am

afraid we will have to bring forward tougher measures. jenny, do you want tougher measures. jenny, do you want to say something? i was not going to refer to specifically one hospital, but i want to say we are all very aware that london currently, and a few other places, are starting to see significant rises. we knew this would happen. it is not what we want to happen, but we know it will happen, so the flexing of the system is designed to manage some of these bumps where we get a high throughput of patients requiring ventilation. we monitor beds all the time. the data i have here says in england only 12% of adult critical care beds are currently occupied with coronavirus patients. that will change drastically as we go through the epidemic. but i am also aware that all hospitals have been asked to step up their training. on a personal basis i have a junior doctor in my family and i know she

was doing ventilator training on friday. there are a number of approaches to, if you are looking at what we might call a standard ventilator bed and which you would see ina ventilator bed and which you would see in a hospital routinely, that is the capacity, there are plans behind that to boost them and using additional support. we are not in a position where the country at the moment does not have sufficient ventilator capacity. thank you. we are working very hard to get it, to massively increase it, be in no doubt about that. chris smith from the times. firstly to doctorjenny harries, how confident can we be that the nhs will identify the right people? some gps say their databases are not efficient enough to do this. what thought has been put on people,

the fact they have to isolate for such a long time, and the mental health toll that will be on them. two we e ks health toll that will be on them. two weeks ago tomorrow italy imposed a lockdown. you have hinted today you are thinking about that. but given where we are in the epidemic, if not now, when? given where we are in the epidemic, if not now, when? let me just say again, taking jenny‘s earlier points about the difficulties of comparison between countries. what we are trying to do is to push down on that growth curve and to get our nhs ready. what we don't know is the effect that the measures we have already taken. we don't know at this stage the measures that we took ten days ago, or a week ago, whether they are starting to have an effect. that is the thing that is incalculable at the moment. but we

cannot obviously take any risks with that. when you say if not now, when is the moment? the answer is always to be guided by the science. there isa to be guided by the science. there is a point that i think people intuitively understand about the timing of these measures. you have got to impose these interventions in the spread of the epidemic at the moment when they can have a maximum effect. after all, when the epidemic is hardly spreading at all, that is not the moment to impose curfews and prohibitions on movement and so on. you have got to wait until, alas, it is the right moment to do it. that is the right moment to do it. that is always how we have been guided. for instance, in the measure we are announcing today on shielding, i think i made it clear right at the beginning that we would not bring in shielding until the moment of

maximum protection. as you rightly say, psychologically it is quite taxing for elderly people, but we would not bring in that moment until it coincided with their moment of maximum exposure with the disease. you try and make the two things coincide. we will do absolutely everything in accordance with the advice that we get from sage, about one hour measures can have the maximum impact in stopping the spread of the disease. basically what people need to understand today is their best bet to stop the spread of the disease and protect the nhs and save lives is to stay—at—home if you possibly can. stay—at—home if you possibly can. stay—at—home if you possibly can. i will work in reverse if that is ok. you mentioned the mental health issues, which are recognised. if we are asking people to stay away broadly from others for

12 weeks, that is quite a large ask of people. it is obviously for their own protection and many of them will be able to self identify, but i will come back to that. for mental health, the letter they will receive will direct them to every mind matters and other websites. these are people of all ages and if they are people of all ages and if they are older they will not be as familiar with that, and that is exactly the purpose of the hubs, to ensure that there is a safety net behind, so that if somebody has psychological needs as well as general daily living needs, or a clinical need, they have the support system. i suspect what is likely to happen is communities and local authorities know their communities well and they know where their vulnerable individuals are, whether it isa vulnerable individuals are, whether it is a clinical need or a social one, and they will make that connection and the individual will get support. some will need very

little support at all, they will have families, but it is the most vulnerable we need to help. that is very well recognised and it is written in the guidance and it will come through the hubs. on the issue of identification it is a hugely complex task. these diseases are not common. 1.5 million sounds a large number, but it is a small proportion of the population. they are spread across a number of different clinical specialties, so we have approached it by three or four different routes. the first is a digital route, but we recognise that will not pick up, for example, every individual with a condition who is having a particular sort of immunosuppressive treatment, if that treatment is not being provided by theirgp, but by treatment is not being provided by their gp, but by a hospital specialist. one route is the digital element, one is through the clinical reference groups who do specialised health service commissioned work,

one is through the trusts and the medical royal colleges. finally there is a catch all at the end of it which is in a couple of weeks if you have not had contact that way, then you can always raise it with yourgp then you can always raise it with your gp yourself. we are not keen for people to do that initially, we are pretty sure we will get most of those people, or they will identify themselves. those gps are working really ha rd themselves. those gps are working really hard on the front line at the moment. there is a catch all at the end of it and a gp is perfectly entitled to raise the issue for any of his or her patients that they think are in that category. i would also like to say, this is not a treatment we are trying to give them, we are saying, do what we have asked you to do, all the things we have said and do them very tightly. in the interim phase if they follow the social distancing

policy tightly, that is effectively what we are asking them to do thanks, jenny. prime minister, people are not acting responsibly, so when are you going to get tough and bring in the police? bring in the police? yes, you have talked about curfews the police? yes, you have talked about cu rfews and the police? yes, you have talked about curfews and also, robert jenrick, if people are not on the list, can they make contact and use these community hubs? and doctor harris, can you talk about the dangers of being outside and if you can contract the virus being outside and should over 705 be going on strolls in the evening or should they be staying at home? strolls in the evening or should they be staying at home ?|j strolls in the evening or should they be staying at home? i really repeat the answer i have given. i say it as firmly and as strongly as ican to say it as firmly and as strongly as i can to everybody, that in going outside now, taking exercise and enjoying themselves and enjoying yourselves out of doors, you have got to take account of the medical advice. you have got to observe

social distancing. yes, you are absolutely right and i have said it several times now this afternoon, if people cannot do that, won't do that, don't do that, then, yes of course, we are going to have to bring in tougher measures. we don't wa nt to bring in tougher measures. we don't want to do that, of course we don't but that may be necessary. if i may a nswer but that may be necessary. if i may answer your question as well, you heard from jenny, no system is fail—safe and there maybe some individuals who have not been caught by the various process we have been through. we hope that isn't the case. if there are people who feel they full into that category, they can they full into that category, they ca n co nta ct they full into that category, they can contact their gp or they can contact their local hub once it is established. for the reasonsjenny sets out, we don't encourage people to do that today because we don't wa nt to to do that today because we don't want to put an unnecessary burden on surgeries and their phone lines. there is also another group of people who are otherwise vulnerable

he will be self isolating and staying at home in the weeks and months ahead. those individuals may not be on these lists because they may not have a specific, clinical reason to be concerned and fall within the shielding initiative we are launching today. nonetheless, they may be vulnerable, they may need support and they may need their medicines and food brought to them. for them, the hubs will absolutely be there to support them, as will all sorts of other volunteering effo rts all sorts of other volunteering efforts we are encouraging as a government and are already taking off in most parts of the country. thank you, robert. last question, sorry. he asked a question about 70s and overand going sorry. he asked a question about 70s and over and going outside. if the 70 and overare and over and going outside. if the 70 and over are in the shielding group, they should not. we are saying very strongly, stay—at—home. it is very much an enclosed group, which is why it is such a big thing to ask people to do. if you are over

70 and more vulnerable because of your age or perhaps an underlying condition with your age, we are encouraging you to stay at home. we are asking everybody, but this group particularly, to cut down on their social contact. the principal running along this and the principle of staying at home is reduce the numberof of staying at home is reduce the number of social contacts that you have. that applies to this group as well and we are asking people in the general vulnerable group, the elderly people including in that, to do that. however, as we have heard with a do that. however, as we have heard witha numberof do that. however, as we have heard with a number of other areas there isa with a number of other areas there is a balance point. what we do not wa nt is a balance point. what we do not want to find as we grow mental health problems only grow other physical problems because of such a strict imposition, which is the point the prime minister is making. the point is, we keep discussing but just to put the science behind it, the virus doesn't last well outside for all sorts of reasons around temperature and uv light and everything else. so an outdoor

environment, compared with an indoor one is generally a safer one. but the difficulty is if people are congregating outside all coming together. so are reasonably fit 70—year—old who has been cooped up because he is safely isolating in a home for a number of weeks and wants to go out for a bit of fresh air at a distance of two metres from somebody else, will no doubt boost his mental health and then he will feel able to put himself away for the next 23.5 hours quite safely and reduce the total number of social contact. it is the principles underlying this which are important. it is those ones we should be trying to get out to the public and through that, encouraging people who currently are congregating. they are dangerous and making the outside environment and available to others who need it. and it is those individuals were even asked not to

congregate outside and to ensure that everybody can have just a little bit of safe space when they need it. thank you. very, very clear. charles, daily telegraph. one question to you, prime minister. the issue of gatherings and what size is a gathering that you should restrict and ban, regarding private gatherings where you might have a group of students who have got together for a party. how will you deal with that, when you make it illegal? then, just a straightforward question on the packages, is the food going to be free and how will they actually order it, you know, the precise details of how that process works? 0n the technicalities of the size of gatherings, if you don't mind i'm going to askjenny to answer. gatherings, if you don't mind i'm going to ask jenny to answer. as we have said in a number of these briefings before, actually the very large gatherings you are still

surrounded by a smallish group of individuals and it is that proximity thatis individuals and it is that proximity that is the problem. but it is the social gathering as well, usually with a large one before and after. the pub, restaurant, getting on the bus in an enclosed environment. in actual fact, the epidemiologists suggest is the smallish gatherings that are the most difficult. somewhere around ten, 12, 15, 20, that sort of size. the reason we have probably all not had good mothering sundays, and having a family gathering, people are intimate with each other, in terms of the social distancing. it is hard to be ina of the social distancing. it is hard to be in a family group when you know each other very well and stay two metres apart. they are the more risky gatherings, rather than the large ones. we have asked people not gather that way, it is the same message as being outside. if you

live in a family unit, you are in the same household. but it is difficult to actually do that and throughout all of this we have tried to put in the science, put in the methods but it relies on the public to actually make it work. it is not something that the government or medicine can do. we actually all have to do it. and wash your hands. wash your hands. robert. the letters that go out will provide a whole range of advice, but they will also highlight this issue of whether you wish to be part of the shielding for medicines and food. you will be directed then to either a website which will be applicable for others but some won't want to use that route. there will be a phone number you can call. either of those roots, you can call. either of those roots, you can call. either of those roots, you can state your preferences whether you don't have family, friends, neighbours close by, people who could support you whether you need this service. at that point,

you will be asked what your preferences will be in terms of dietary requirements, medical conditions and so on. which will then guide us to provide the parcel to you. the first instance, it will be free, paid for by the exchequer for simplicity. if over time we can refine into a more sophisticated offer, more tailored to individual‘s needs and we are working with supermarkets to see if it is possible in time, it may be a different arrangement. but to begin with it will be free to ensure the people who really need it get the supplies as soon as possible. we are going back over this debate we have been having about public space, open space and how to handle it. i want to get back to the point i was making at the beginning, which is, i wa nt to making at the beginning, which is, i want to thank the vast majority of people who are behaving incredibly responsibly and following the guidance and advice on social distancing. and, the difficulty of

course, is that is what is happening is some people, either through heedless niss or whatever, are not making it easy for us because, as jenny says, congregating in a way thatis jenny says, congregating in a way that is likely to spread the disease. we actually have to be careful now how we take steps to correct that. we will be thinking actively over the next few days. but the best thing everybody can do, if you are going outside observe social distancing. stay two metres apart, it is not such a difficult thing. do it. we say generally to people, stay—at—home, that is the best way to protect the nhs. that is the best way, if you possibly can, stay—at—home and that is the best way to save potentially many, many thousands of lives. the more we comply now with whatjenny and

others have been saying, then the faster we will beat it and the faster we will beat it and the faster we will get through it. it is not the first time you have heard me say it, but it is absolutely true. thank you all very much, we will see you next time. thank you. studio: said the prime minister, borisjohnson, ending studio: said the prime minister, boris johnson, ending this studio: said the prime minister, borisjohnson, ending this latest conference at downing street. two important areas were addressed in this latest update. 0ne important areas were addressed in this latest update. one was the advice to the general public and the other was the advice to the 1.5 million people that the nhs is writing to in the coming days. the most vulnerable people who will be told to isolate and more details emerged about how that will work and the services that will be on offer. more on that in a memo but let's go live to vicki young, who was in the news conference. she has now stepped out. on this advice to the general public, a reiteration of what we

heard before, but also a warning? yes, it was a stark warning and it is the question everyone wants to know, if people are not following the advice, what is going to happen? we have seen pictures, we have been showing them on bbc news all day, people going to parks and not all of them following the advice. which is basically social distancing, staying two metres apart. people are not doing that and it is clear from the prime minister, in the next 2a hours, he said, he will be actively considering other measures. he said you don't have to use your imagination much to realise what that will mean. we have seen it happen in other countries across europe, where people are being told not to leave their houses. it is also very clear listening to the prime minister in his answer to me, he doesn't want to do this. he feels that very, very enormous steps have been taken. large parts of the british economy have been closed down completely, schools will be

closed for most children from tomorrow and there is 1.5 million people who have underlying health issues being told to stay—at—home, not leave at all for 12 weeks. they are hoping that will be enough to make sure that the nhs is not overwhelmed. the problem they have is there is a two to three week time limit. where you don't know you have had it. the prime minister, saying don't go against the advice because he doesn't want to the police to have to deal with it in some way. very reluctant to do that but it does feel as though this is the last chance for people. also, they are very concerned about people's mental and physical well—being. he said exercise will have an enormous impact. we may come back to you shortly, but in the meantime,

richard galpin, a health correspondent is in the studio. 0n this point of the 1.5 million people who have been written to, we don't know who they are and there was no categorisation on the basis of age, it was the most vulnerable. how are things work, particularly those living alone? this is key, the announcement was made earlier today and there was absolutely no detail. now we have some really important detail about how this is going to look. i think very importantly, they are saying that others in the household can be there. we assume that if it was one person, that is it and they wouldn't be able to bring any of the people in. but it sounds like other people can be there and that is a huge help. they we re there and that is a huge help. they were not be under the same regime, which means they will be able to go out, do the shopping and get those necessary things. that obviously is important. also, saying that carers can visit. there are many people who

are on their own, many people, elderly, for example, who are on their own. carers can come in to help them. they will presumably be having to use protective equipment. the last thing you want to do is come in to try to help someone and then infect them. you can imagine ca re rs then infect them. you can imagine carers might be going into houses wearing masks, for example and other protective equipment. then we are talking about the delivery of food and supplies. it seems this is going to be an absolutely massive operation. they are saying some very senior army officials, who are used to planning big events, they will be involved in the planning of that with a national hub being set up and subsidiary hubs around the country. from those subsidiary hubs, then food and medicines can then be delivered. they will be left on the doorstep to maintain that no contact principle? of course, it has to be. you can come into the house, the

flat, whatever it is. presumably they will be cardboard boxes because they will be cardboard boxes because they absorb coronavirus. if it is anything else and the person who has delivered it has got coronavirus, they could pass it onto the household. it is very important those boxes would need to be cardboard. jenny harries, deputy chief medical adviser was quite clear on the difficulty of identifying the 1.5 million people, saying they would use information from gps, but because they wanted to err on the side of caution, it may be that people are put on this list, which would mean isolating for this 12 period, but there might be a way round that if it turned out people did not really need to be on that list but had ended up on it. effectively, if there has been a mistake, it means they could potentially turn it round, we will have to see how that works out. it

sounds like that the gp lists are not complete and that is a big problem and there will be a big programme now to collate all the names and numbers of people and contact them. and a broader point about the advice to the general population, clearly some frustration on the part of the prime minister and with this warning that if people cannot follow the measures, and he made it clear it applies to children as much as anyone else, if they cannot follow it or if they will not follow it, more measures will come. he was asked specifically about that. it is a key question. will he mmp that. it is a key question. will he ramp it up more? he has been very unwilling to do that. he does not wa nt to unwilling to do that. he does not want to use enforcement. but what he was saying is if necessary, if people do not behave responsibly, as he put it, they will have to look at what other countries have done. that primarily includes stopping all movement altogether. richard, thank

you very much for the moment. there have been many other developments through the course of the afternoon, both in this country and beyond, so let's bring you up on the very latest that has been emerging on the coronavirus. in that news conference at the prime minister stopped short of announcing new measures to ensure people observe social distancing, but he said the uk needed to heed the message. on social distancing and the further measures we may bring in, i don't think you need to use your imagination very much to see where we might have to go, and we will think about this very actively in the next 2a hours, we need to think about the kind of measures we have seen elsewhere. 0ther measures we have seen elsewhere. other countries have been forced to bring in restrictions on people's movement altogether. as i say, i don't want to do that because i