SOME 250,000 volunteers in good health are being recruited by the Government to help vulnerable people - while the ExCeL centre in London will be converted into a new NHS hospital, Matt Hancock has announced.

The Health Secretary said a quarter of a million people are needed to assist with the national effort to tackle coronavirus, help the NHS and support the vulnerable.

He said more than 35,000 extra NHS staff have already joined up to help fight against the virus, including retired doctors and nurses returning to the service and final year students.

Mr Hancock also confirmed that a temporary hospital - the NHS Nightingale hospital - would be opening at London's ExCeL centre.

It comes after the Government faced criticism over its policy on workers, with pictures of packed London Tube trains appearing on social media on Tuesday.

In measures announced on Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told people to only go to work if "absolutely necessary".

But on Tuesday, Mr Hancock said those who cannot work from home, including key workers in the NHS and social care, should go to work "to keep the country running".

During a press briefing, Mr Hancock said enforcement action will be taken against businesses who remain open despite being ordered to close.

Outlining the new rules, he said: "It is stay at home unless you've got a good reason and we will also enforce those rules.

"If you are in a workplace that we have said will close then we are going to enforce against those closures as well."

Deputy chief medical officer for England Dr Jenny Harries said individuals should raise concerns with their bosses if they feel unsafe.

"If they don't feel that safety, then I think it is reasonable to highlight that very firmly with their employer," she said.

Couples who do not live together could be spreading coronavirus if they continue to see each other, Dr Harries said. 

She recommended non-cohabiting partners opt to move in with one another during the strict restrictions on movement.

"If you are two individuals, two halves of the couple, living in separate households then ideally they should stay in those households," she said.

"The alternative might be that, for quite a significant period going forward, they should just test the strength of their relationship and decide whether they should be permanently be resident in another household."

Dr Harries added: "What we do not want is people switching in and out of households.

"It defeats the purpose of reductions in social interactions and will allow the transmission of disease."