Troops are to deliver food and medicine to 1.5million sick people who will be told to stay indoors for 12 weeks from Monday.
Anyone with underlying medical conditions – including cancer or respiratory conditions such as cystic fibrosis or severe chronic bronchitis – must stay inside.
And those who have had organ transplants or are on immune suppressant drugs should not venture out. Pregnant women with heart disease are also on the new high-risk list.
The dramatic increase in self-isolation came as Britain’s coronavirus deaths rose by 53 yesterday to 233, including the youngest victim so far who was 41.
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