good evening the corona virus is the
biggest threat this country has faced
for decades and this country is not
alone all over the world were seeing the
devastating impact of this invisible
killer and so tonight I want to update
you on the latest steps we're taking to
fight the disease and what you can do to
help and I want to begin by reminding
you why the UK has been taking the
approach that we have without a huge
national effort to halt the growth of
this virus there will come a moment when
no health service in the world could
possibly cope because there won't be
enough ventilators enough intensive care
beds enough doctors and nurses and as
we've seen elsewhere in other countries
that also have fantastic health care
systems that is the moment a real danger
to put it simply if too many people
become seriously unwell at one time the
NHS will be unable to handle it meaning
more people are likely to die not just
from coronavirus but from other
illnesses as well so it's vital to slow
the spread of the disease because that
is the way we reduce the number of
people needing hospital treatment at any
one time so we can protect the NHS is
ability to cope and save more lives and
that's why we've been asking people to
stay at home during this pandemic and
though huge numbers are complying and I
thank you all the time has now come for
us all to do more from this evening I
must give the British people a very
simple instruction you must stay at home
because the critical thing we must do to
stop the disease spreading between
households that is why people will only
be allowed to leave their home for the
following very limited purposes 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 traveling
to and from work but only whether this
is absolutely necessary and cannot be
done from home that's all these are the
only reasons you should leave your home
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 you
should not be going shopping except for
essentials like food and medicine and
you should do this as little as you can
and use food delivery services where you
can if you don't follow the rules
the police will have the powers to
enforce them
including through fines and dispersing
gatherings to ensure compliance with the
government's instruction to stay at home
we will immediately close all shops
selling non-essential goods including
clothing and electronic stores and other
premises including libraries playgrounds
and outdoor gyms and places of worship
will stop all gatherings of more than
two people in public excluding people
you live with and will stop all social
events including weddings baptisms and
other ceremonies but excluding funerals
parks will remain open for exercise but
gatherings will be dispersed no prime
minister wants to enact measures like
this I know the damage that this
disruption is doing and will do to
people's lives to their businesses and
to their jobs and that's why we've
produced a huge and unprecedented
program of support both for workers and
for business and I can assure you that
we will keep these restrictions under
constant review we will look again in
three weeks and relax them if the
evidence shows we are able to but at
present there are just no easy options
the way
head is hard and it is still true that
many lives will sadly be lost and yet it
is also true that there is a clear way
through 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 were
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 thank you