Coronavirus: London cuts Tube trains and warns 'don't travel unless you really have to'

New measures are being introduced across London's transport network in response to the worsening coronavirus outbreak.

A partial shutdown of the London Underground is beginning today - and up to 40 stations that do not interchange with other lines are going to be closed "until further notice".

As the morning rush hour began, several other stations were closed owing to "operational restrictions".

The Waterloo and City line is going to shut completely from Friday, and Night Tube services that normally run on Friday and Saturday nights are being suspended.

Transport for London (TfL) is also planning to reduce the frequency of services across its network from Monday "to provide a service for critical workers to get where they need to".

The Tube, London Overground, TfL Rail, the DLR and London trams will all be affected by this reduction in service.

Late services will continue to run for "essential journeys" on both the Tube and Overground - with bus services continuing through the night.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: "People should not be travelling, by any means, unless they really, really have to. Londoners should be avoiding social interaction unless absolutely necessary, and that means they should be avoiding using the transport network unless absolutely necessary.

"London will get through these extraordinarily challenging times, and ensuring the capital's critical workers can move around the city will be crucial.

"I'm urging Londoners to only use public transport for essential journeys. Everyone should follow this and the other advice to help keep themselves and each other safe."

The following stations could close from today:

Bakerloo line

• Lambeth North
• Regents Park
• Warwick Avenue
• Kilburn Park
• Charing Cross

Central line

• Holland Park
• Queensway
• Lancaster Gate
• Chancery Lane
• Redbridge

Circle line

• Bayswater
• Great Portland Street
• Barbican

District line

• Bow Road
• Stepney Green
• Mansion House
• Temple
• St James's Park
• Gloucester Road

Jubilee line

• Swiss Cottage
• St John's Wood
• Bermondsey
• Southwark

Northern line

• Tufnell Park
• Chalk Farm
• Mornington Crescent
• Goodge Street
• Borough
• Clapham South
• Tooting Bec
• South Wimbledon
• Hampstead

Piccadilly line

• Caledonian Road
• Arsenal
• Covent Garden
• Hyde Park Corner
• Bounds Green
• Manor House

Victoria line

• Pimlico
• Blackhorse Road

It follows advice from the government earlier this week for everyone to stop all non-essential travel.

The government is also considering closing most shops in the capital by the weekend, according to Whitehall sources.

Pharmacies and supermarkets are expected to stay open under the tougher measures.

On Monday, the prime minister ordered Britons to avoid pubs, clubs, restaurants and theatres, but no measures had been announced to close establishments.

Boris Johnson has said London is ahead of other parts of the UK in terms of how much it has been affected by COVID-19.

Londoners have already been told to take social distancing measures "particularly seriously", including working from home where possible, avoiding confined spaces, and not having any unnecessary social contact.

As of 9am on Wednesday, there were 2,626 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK - a rise of 676 in the last 24 hours.

Of these, 953 are in London, and the capital accounts for at least 35 of the 104 UK deaths.

The worst-affected London boroughs are Southwark with 70 cases, Westminster with 68 cases, and Lambeth with 61 confirmed cases.

The government's chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, has suggested there could be as many as 55,000 coronavirus cases already in the UK and 20,000 deaths or below would be a "good outcome".

The latest developments in the UK:

• Up to 20,000 service personnel are being put on standby to help drive oxygen tankers, support police and boost hospital capacity
• The government has promised emergency legislation to suspend new evictions from social or rented accommodation for at least three months
• All schools will close from Friday until further notice and exams and assessments will not be held this academic year
• Thirty-two more people died in England after testing positive for coronavirus, it was reported on Wednesday, taking the total number of UK deaths to 104
• Critically ill COVID-19 patients will be given an experimental new treatment as soon as Monday, as part of the first trial of its kind

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Mr Johnson is now holding daily televised news conferences in Downing Street to keep the public informed of the government's response.

Number 10 has said it would be rapidly increasing the number of coronavirus tests, with as many as 25,000 people tested within NHS hospitals each day.

The prime minister also called on companies to work with the government to rapidly develop a test to establish whether people have developed immunity, in order to help get NHS staff back to work as quickly as possible.

The World Health Organisation recently criticised national governments for not conducting enough tests on their populations.