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Britons with the most serious health conditions should be "largely shielded from social contact" for three months to avoid coronavirus.

That was the advice given by UK prime minister Boris Johnson as he called on Britons to "stop all non-essential contact and unnecessary travel", Euronews reported. 

He said the spread of the virus was particularly prevalent in the capital and that Londoners should work from home and avoid pubs and restaurants.

But he stopped short of imposing the kind of restrictions seen in France, where pubs, schools and restaurants have been closed, or Italy, under a complete lockdown.

"This is a very fast-moving situation and the latest numbers suggest we are entering a fast-growth period or on the cusp of doing so," said the UK's chief scientific advisor, Patrick Vallance. "London is ahead of parts of the country."

Johnson said the number of UK cases was starting to rise rapidly and ``without drastic action`` "they could double every five or six days". As of Monday, Britain had 1,543 confirmed cases and 53 virus-related deaths.