The UK government has urged people to stay home this weekend and protect the NHS.
During today's daily briefing, Michael Gove, the Chancellor of the Dutchy of Lancaster, said it was vital that people played their part to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
Seven healthcare workers have now lost their lives to Covid-19, Mr Gove added.
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It comes as the UK suffered its worst day of fatalities, with 708 people having died of Covid-19, including a five-year-old and 13-year-old Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab.
Mr Gove said he hoped their deaths would not be in vain and pressed the importance of people staying home.
He said: "We offer our heartfelt condolences. You must stay at home. Take pride in keeping your own families safe.
"I know life under lockdown can be challenging and some will be tempted on a sunny weekend to venture out.
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"But if we relax our adherence to the rules we increase the risk for others - that's why it is so important to stay at home."
He went on: "We need to reduce social contact, stop transmission and reduce the spread.
"Please don't go outside to visit the lakes, the beaches, the countryside.
"The more we restrict contact, the more we slow the spread of the infection, the more time we have to build capacity in the NHS to treat those in need."
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Mr Gove assured the country that the government was doing its bit to improve its response and to make sure that hospitals had the equipment they needed to deal with the pandemic.
He revealed that as well as hundreds of ventilators being brought in from abroad, the first batch of British-made ventilators would be ready this weekend.
He went on: "We've been buying invasive ventilators from partners abroad, including Germany and Switzerland, and today 300 new ventilators arrived from China. I'd like to thank the Chinese government."
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The Cabinet minister also responded to questions over rumours being spread about 5G being responsible for the coronavirus outbreak, calling them 'dangerous nonsense'.
Echoing his views, NHS Director Stephen Powis said: "It's the worst kind of fake news. I'm absolutely outraged and disgusted that people would be taking action against the infrastructure we need to tackle this emergency."
Mr Powis also said that it was too soon to be talking about an 'exit strategy', and said that it is likely the disease will hit most people around the world.
"It is very likely this virus will become established in populations around the world so we need strategy to manage this over time," he said.
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Mr Powis also stated that the current death tolls only include those who have died in hospitals and he "expects deaths will be higher" and will only come out in the coming weeks.
It's okay to not panic. LADbible and UNILAD's aim with our Coronavirus campaign, Cutting Through, is to provide our community with facts and stories from the people who are either qualified to comment or have experienced first-hand the situation we're facing. For more information from the World Health Organisation on Coronavirus, click here.
Topics: Science, UK News, Interesting, Health