UK tells vulnerable to stay at home for 12 weeks to fight virus

Britain will tell 1.5 million of its most vulnerable citizens they must stay at home for the next 12 weeks to protect themselves from the coronavirus, a minister said on Sunday.

"Today, we have to go further and shield the most clinically vulnerable people to save their lives," communities minister Robert Jenrick said at a news conference with Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

"The (National Health Service) will be contacting these people in the coming days urging them to stay at home for a period of at least 12 weeks."