HOME is now the “front line” in the fight against coronavirus, the Health Secretary has said, as the death toll in the UK jumped to 422.

Figures released by the NHS today showed the number of people who have died from the virus had risen by 87 from 335 yesterday.

A total of 8,077 have now tested positive for the virus in the UK.

Matt Hancock urged everyone to come together to reduce the number of people in the UK who will die from the spread of Covid-19.

But he issued a stark warning, saying stricter measures introduced by the Prime Minister on Monday were not advice but rules that must be followed.

Mr Hancock told MPs in the Commons: “The spread of coronavirus is rapidly accelerating across the world and in the UK.

“The actions we took yesterday are not actions that any UK government would want to take but they are absolutely necessary.

“Our instruction is simple: stay at home.”

He said people should only be leaving their home for four reasons – shopping for essentials such as food and medicine, one form of exercise per day, medical need or to provide care to a vulnerable person, and travelling to and from work, but only where this is absolutely necessary and cannot be done from home.

Mr Hancock said: “These measures are not advice, they are rules and will be enforced including by the police, with fines starting at £30 up to unlimited fines for non-compliance.”

He continued: “We are engaged in a great national effort to beat this virus, everybody now has it in their power to save lives and protect the NHS.

“Home is now the front line.

“In this national effort, working together, we can defeat this disease, everyone has a part to play.”