Without a national effort to halt the spread of this virus, there will come a moment when no health service could cope – so it is vital to slow the spread of the disease. The government has taken a range of measures to do so and announced significant economic measures to help people and businesses through the inevitable disruption.

First, it is vital that we reduce our day-to-day contact with other people, because this reduces the spread of the virus. As you will be aware, the government is requiring people to stay at home except for very limited purposes, closing non-essential shops and community spaces, and stopping all gatherings of more than two people in public. Everyone must comply with these measures. Further detail and guidance are available here.

For the same reason, schools have been closed since the end of Friday 20 March, with limited exceptions. Guidance on this can be found here.

We are all worried about safeguarding the elderly and those with underlying health conditions, and the government has issued advice on how to protect the most vulnerable people during this time.

The government is also supporting employees, businesses and public services. The recent Budget included a £5 billion boost for the NHS and other public services, and it was made clear that the NHS will get whatever it needs to cope with the current situation.

In addition, a £330 billion package of loans and guarantees will support businesses of all sizes and be expanded if necessary. The government is also deferring the next three months of VAT, protecting commercial tenants from eviction, and helping to pay people’s wages through a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Details of these schemes, and the full range of support we’re giving to businesses, is available here. More information for employees is available here.

Next, as Foreign Secretary I took the decision on 17 March to advise British nationals against non-essential travel globally, for an initial period of 30 days, and subject to ongoing review. On 23 March, I advised all British tourists and short-stay travellers currently abroad to return to the UK where and while commercial flight options are still available. You can find the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) travel advice and sign up for email alerts on the FCO website here. At the FCO, we are working around the clock to advise, support and return stranded Brits abroad. To take just one example, two weeks ago there were over 100,000 UK nationals travelling in Spain. Now there are less than 10,000 - an indication of the massive effort involved.

I appreciate that these measures will change life for all of us for several months. It will be disruptive, but these measures are necessary to pull through in a way that saves lives, protects the public and safeguards the economy.

Strong local community spirit will be vital over the next few months, particularly for the elderly and vulnerable groups, and I would encourage people to do what they can to look out for those groups, within the boundaries of the new rules.