It has been announced that the prime minister and the health secretary have both tested positive for Covid-19.
Chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty will also be self-isolating for a minimum of seven days, after announcing that he "[experienced] symptoms compatible with Covid-19 last night".
Other members of the government, including Dominic Cummings and Rishi Sunak, have note reported symptoms.
The prime minister has said he will be "working from home" and will "continue to lead the government's response via video-conference".
Deaths in the UK have risen by 181 today, taking the total to 759, with more than 560,000 confirmed global cases.
In Europe, Spain has seen a rise of 769 deaths in the last 24 hours, but its infection rate is stabilising, down from 20 per cent on Wednesday to just 14 per cent today.
The US has now become the nation with the most coronavirus cases, with more than 93,000 confirmed.
China, however, has seen the number of domestically-transmitted cases stabilise, although its total confirmed case figure continues to increase as a result of "imported cases". Of the 55 new cases in China on Thursday, 54 were brought in from overseas.
On the back of this, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has announced that it would be "suspending the entry of foreign nationals", even if they have residence permits or visas.
The next Leaders Council update will follow after the weekend.
