no exams will take place this academic year, education secretary gavin williamson confirms. princess beatrice cancels her wedding reception at buckingham palace and will take further advice on whether to carry on with a private wedding ceremony, scheduled to take place on 29 may. the 50th anniversary glastonbury festival is cancelled as a result of the pandemic. the government announces emergency legislation to bring in a ban on new evictions for three months, as part of measures to help protect renters in social and private rented accommodation. the bbc announces that due to the covid-19 pandemic, filming on casualty, doctors, eastenders, holby city, pobol y cwm and river city is suspended until further notice. weekly episodes of eastenders will also be reduced from four to two to keep it on the air for as long as possible. mp lloyd russell-moyle announces that he has tested positive with covid-19. 19 march the first covid-19 death is confirmed in northern ireland. the ministry of defence announces the formation of the covid support force, enabling the military to support public services and civilian authorities in tackling the outbreak. two military operations are also announced: operation rescript, which focuses on the outbreak in the united kingdom; and operation broadshare, which focuses on british military activities overseas. in an emergency move, the bank of england cuts interest rates again, from 0.25% to just 0.1%. this is the lowest rate in the bank's 325-year history. the government announces £1.6bn for local authorities, to help with the cost of adult social care and support for the homeless; and £1.3 billion to the nhs and social care, to allow up to 15,000 people to be discharged from hospital. the uk government no longer deems covid-19 to be a "high consequence infectious disease" (hcid) following opinion from the uk hcid group and the advisory committee on dangerous pathogens. 20 march chancellor rishi sunak announces that the government will pay 80% of wages for employees not working, up to £2,500 a month, as part of "unprecedented" measures to protect people's jobs. prime minister boris johnson orders all cafes, pubs and restaurants to close from the evening of 20 march, except for take-away food, to tackle covid-19. all the uk's nightclubs, theatres, cinemas, gyms and leisure centres are told to close "as soon as they reasonably can". 21 march environment secretary george eustice urges shoppers to stop panic buying, as supermarkets around the uk struggle to keep up with demand. tesco, asda, aldi, and lidl are reported to have begun a recruitment drive for up to 30,000 new staff. the driver and vehicle standards agency announces that all pending practical and driving theory tests are to be postponed, for at least three months in the case of practical tests, and up to and including 20 april for theory tests. all candidates are to receive notification of when their tests are rescheduled. 22 march the nursing and midwifery council announces that more than 5,600 former nurses have registered to offer their services in the fight against covid-19. boris johnson warns that "tougher measures" may be introduced if people do not follow government advice on social distancing. downing street confirms foreign secretary dominic raab will act in place of prime minister boris johnson if he becomes "incapacitated". the press reports the uk's virus's youngest victim so far, an eighteen-year-old with underlying health problems. 23 march the government announces emergency measures to safeguard the nation's rail network, with season ticket holders given refunds if working from home, and rail franchise agreements nationalised for at least six months to prevent rail companies from collapsing. in a televised address, boris johnson announces new strict rules applicable to the entire united kingdom with the aim to slow the spread of the disease, by reducing transmission of the disease between different households. the british public are instructed that they must stay at home, except for certain "very limited purposes" – shopping for essential items (such as food and medicine); one form of outdoor exercise each day (such as running, walking or cycling), either alone or with others who live in the same household; for any medical need, or to provide care to a vulnerable person; and to travel to and from work where this is "absolutely necessary" and the work in question cannot be done from home. however, when these restrictions came into force on 26 march, the statutory instrument for england omitted any limit on the number of exercise sessions. all non-essential shops, libraries, places of worship, playgrounds and outdoor gyms are closed, and police are given powers to enforce the measures, including the use of fines. 24 march the uk records its highest number of covid-19 deaths in one day, after a further 87 people die across the country, bringing the total to 422. for the first time, all of the uk's mobile networks send out a government text alert. the message reads: "gov.uk covid-19 alert. new rules in force now: you must stay at home. more info and exemptions at gov.uk/covid-19 stay at home. protect the nhs. save lives." health secretary matt hancock announces the government will open a temporary hospital, the nhs nightingale hospital at the excel london, to add extra critical care capacity in response to covid-19 pandemic. the church of england closes all its buildings. bbc news announces that it is delaying plans to cut 450 news jobs due to the pressure of covering the covid-19 pandemic. 25 march prince charles tests positive for covid-19. parliament shuts down for a month. british transport police deploys 500 officers to patrol the uk's rail network, in an effort to discourage non-essential journeys. new measures are also introduced on the london underground to reduce passenger numbers. the police will be given the power to use "reasonable force" to enforce the lockdown regulations. the first two working nhs doctors die from covid-19 on the same day, one a gp, the other a surgeon. the contingencies fund act 2020 receives royal assent. 26 march the health protection (covid-19, restrictions) (england) regulations 2020 (si 350) (the 'lockdown regulations') come into effect, significantly extending the range of businesses that are required by law to close with immediate effect including all retail businesses not on an approved list. these regulations also include significant restrictions on freedom of movement: "no person may leave the place where they are living without reasonable excuse". the number of uk covid-19 deaths increases by more than 100 in a day for the first time, rising to 578, while a total of 11,568 have tested positive for the virus. the government announces that some self-employed will be paid 80% of profits, up to £2,500 a month, to help them cope during the economic crisis triggered by covid-19. at 8pm, millions of people around the country take part in a "clap for carers" tribute, applauding the nhs and other care workers. the national theatre launches national theatre at home, a two-month programme whereby a different production from its archives will be streamed for free each week. the project begins with richard bean's comedy one man, two guvnors, featuring james corden. 27 march prime minister boris johnson and health secretary matt hancock both test positive for covid-19. johnson will self-isolate in 10 downing street and hancock is self-isolating at home whilst working. chief medical adviser chris whitty and labour party mp angela rayner, the shadow secretary of state for education, also confirm they have been suffering symptoms and are self-isolating. leon restaurants sets up the "feed nhs" initiative to deliver 5,600 free meals a day to nhs critical care staff at london hospitals. the 2020 cambridge folk festival is cancelled. dominic cummings, johnson's lead adviser, drives 250 miles to durham with his wife and child. when this came to public notice in may, he explained that "there was nobody in london that could reasonably ask to look after child". 28 march alister jack, the secretary of state for scotland, announces that he is self-isolating after experiencing covid-19 symptoms. a further 260 deaths takes the number of fatalities past 1,000, with a total of 1,019 deaths having occurred so far; 17,089 people have tested positive. at 11pm, new regulations come into force in northern ireland giving authorities the power to force businesses to close, and impose fines on them if they refuse, as well as on people leaving their homes without a "reasonable excuse". the measures, introduced by the northern ireland executive, bring northern ireland into line with the rest of the uk. 29 march the government will send a letter to 30 million households warning things will "get worse before they get better" and that tighter restrictions could be implemented if necessary. the letter will also be accompanied by a leaflet setting out the government's lockdown rules along with health information. dr jenny harries, england's deputy chief medical officer, suggests it could be six months before life can return to "normal", because social distancing measures will have to be reduced "gradually". the first nhs nurse dies of covid-19. 30 march as the number of reported deaths rises to 1,408, patrick vallance, the uk's chief scientific adviser, says there are early signs social distancing measures are "making a difference". transmission of the virus within the community is thought to be decreasing, and hospital admission data suggests cases are not rising as fast as anticipated. foreign secretary dominic raab announces an arrangement between the government and major uk airlines to fly home tens of thousands of british nationals who are stranded abroad by covid-19 outbreak. dominic cummings, the prime minister's chief adviser, is reported to be self-isolating after experiencing covid-19 symptoms. vehicle owners are granted a six-month exemption from mot tests, enabling them to continue using their vehicles for essential travel. all gatwick express services are suspended until further notice on the grounds of significantly reduced demand for travel to gatwick airport. 31 march a significant rise in anxiety and depression among the uk population is reported following the lockdown. the study, by researchers from the university of sheffield and ulster university, finds that people reporting anxiety increased from 17% to 36%, while those reporting depression increased from 16% to 38%. the number of people in hospital with covid-19 passes 10,000. the largest uk daily death toll of the outbreak so far is reported, with 381 deaths taking the total to 1,789. 1 april the uk government confirms that a total of 2,000 nhs staff have been tested for covid-19 since the outbreak began, but cabinet office minister michael gove says a shortage of chemical reagents needed for covid-19 testing means it is not possible to screen the nhs's 1.2 million workforce. gove's statement is contradicted by the chemical industries association, which says there is not a shortage of the relevant chemicals and that at a meeting with a business minister the week before the government had not tried to find out about potential supply problems. the contactless payment limit for in-store spending is raised from £30 to £45. multinational pharmaceutical company roche denies the existence of a deal to supply wales with covid-19 tests after first minister mark drakeford and health minister vaughan gething blame the shortage of testing kits on the collapse of a deal. 2 april matt hancock, who returns to give the daily government briefing after completing his self-isolation, sets a target of carrying out 100,000 tests a day by the end of the month (encompassing both swab tests and blood tests). the government writes off historical debts totalling £13.4bn of over 100 hospital trusts, an action which had been under consideration since before the onset of the pandemic. at 8pm the uk gives another national round of applause for nhs staff and other key workers. bbc sports presenter gary lineker announces that he is donating £140,000 to the british red cross towards research into covid-19. 3 april nhs nightingale hospital london, the first temporary hospital to treat covid-19 patients, opens at the excel centre in east london, employing nhs staff and military personnel, with 500 beds and potential capacity for 4,000. it is the first of several such facilities planned across the uk. figures published by the cabinet office indicate uk road traffic levels have fallen by 73% since the lockdown measures were introduced, and are at their lowest since 1955. with warm