In a video that the prime minister shared online from isolation, he said that around 20,000 ex-NHS staff have returned to help fight against coronavirus.
He said that the UK would get through the crisis "together". The death toll from coronavirus in the UK has now passed 1,200, with more than 19,000 confirmed cases, although it is estimated the actual number of cases is much higher.
England's deputy chief medical officer, Dr Jenny Harries, said yesterday that social distancing measures would most likely be in place for "three to six months" and that it could well be the upper end of that range before life in the UK is "normal" again.
In UK business, budget airline EasyJet has grounded all of its planes after the "unprecedented travel restrictions" in action across the world, and announced that all cabin crew will be furloughed.
Additionally, Mercedes Formula One, alongside UCLH clinicians and UCL engineers, have created a breathing aid device that is less invasive than a ventilator in under a week. More than forty of these devices are being trialled this week, and should they be successful, Mercedes-AMG-HPP have announced they could produce as many as 1,000 a day.
Across the Atlantic, Donald Trump has extended social distancing measures to the end of April, and has also said that Harry and Meghan, who have relocated to California in the midst of the Covid-19 outbreak, will "have to pay" for any security they need.
In China, the lockdown in Wuhan has been partially lifted after more than two months.
And in India, PM Narendra Modi has asked for "forgiveness" after the lockdown his government imposed -- which came into play with fewer than four hours' notice -- has left many citizens "jobless and hungry".
The next Leaders Council update will follow this evening.
