Britain extended its nationwide lockdown on Thursday as stand-in leader Dominic Raab ordered Britons to stay at home for at least another three weeks to prevent the spread of a coronavirus outbreak which has already claimed over 138,000 lives globally.

"We have just come too far, we've lost too many loved ones, we've already sacrificed far too much to ease up now, especially when we are beginning to see the evidence that our efforts are starting to pay off," he told reporters.

Raab is deputising while Prime Minister Boris Johnson recuperates from COVID-19 complications. Raab chaired an emergency meeting on Thursday to review scientific evidence on the impact of the existing lockdown