A new “stay at home” order could be announced on Monday, with schools, colleges and universities exempt. One of the models suggests deaths could reach more than 4,000 a day.

It is still to be finalised, but it is likely everything will be closed except essential shops and education facilities, which includes nurseries, schools and universities. Tougher measures for the most affected regions are also being considered.

This means non-essential shops, pubs, bars, restaurants and leisure facilities could close as they did in March.

Thousands of jobseekers are being scammed in a surge of fake job adverts, as fraudsters exploit the rise in unemployment.

Reports of fake listings soared by 70 percent between March and October, according to SAFERjobs, an organisation that tracks employment fraud.

Since the pandemic began, it has received 750 reports of job scams, which aim to trick people into handing over money or personal data. It estimates there have been about 3,750 victims in total.