Young and healthy people have been urged to stay away from supermarkets and make meals from food in their cupboards as demand for groceries and household goods surges during the coronavirus lockdown. 

Britons have hoarded food worth £1 billion during the past fortnight as a result of panic buying - despite assurances from the government and industry that there is still plenty in the supply chain. 

The CEO of Tesco is encouraging shoppers who are fit and healthy to use stores in order to free-up delivery slots for online orders to the elderly small outdoor table and chair set vulnerable.

But the boss of Ocado told people to 'make their meals work', adding: 'The first thing is 'don't panic'. There isn't going to be no food tomorrow. Nobody will starve.'

NHS England national medical director Stephen Powis accused panic buyers of depriving healthcare staff of the food supplies they need, adding: 'Frankly we should all be ashamed.'

Consumers shifted online as they feared supermarkets could become breeding grounds for the virus, after panic-buyers stripped shelves bare, stockpiling everything from pasta to toilet paper and paracetamol.  

But the move has now led to home delivery slots being largely unavailable until mid April.  

Ocado has been operating at full capacity during the crisis and said yesterday it had around ten times more demand for its services than it did before the outbreak began.

Online orders are now limited to one per week per customer, while some items have also been limited to just two per person.

Chief executive of the online delivery service, Lord Stuart Rose, urged consumers to act rationally as he revealed Britons had hoarded an extra £1billion worth of food over the past couple of weeks.  

As Britain started its third day of mass self-isolation today, it also emerged:  



Chancellor Rishi Sunak will finally today unveil a coronavirus bailout for millions of stricken self-employed workers.

One of the government's top advisers said the UK's epidemic will get worse before it gets better but could peak by Easter. 

Dyson has been handed an order of 10,000 ventilators from the Government - as long as the machines pass early tests. 

Retailer Boots begged people not to turn up demanding tests because it has yet to receive any.

Royal aides tried to trace anyone Prince Charles has met in the last fortnight after he tested positive for the disease.

 The latest coronavirus figures for the UK showed 9,529 positive tests and a death toll of 465.  






Social distancing lines are taped across a supermarket floor to encourage people to stay at least two meters apart at a Tesco in Peterborough 







Huge queues wait patiently as they keep a safe distance outside the Asda supermarket in Byker, Newcastle upon Tyne







Hundreds of shoppers were queuing outside a Morrison's supermarket in Canning Town east London today as people attempted to adhere to the Government's social distancing rules









These shoppers waiting to access a Tesco supermarket in London are adhering strictly to social distancing rules. The retailer placed marks on the floor to show the six foot six distance people should stay apart to reduce the risk of spreading the virus 







UK retailers such as Sainsbury's have implemented special access for NHS staff at their stores. This was the scene outside the Sainsbury's store in Charlton this morning







Ocado has reported the demand on its service is ten times that compared with  the period before the coronavirus crisis 







Some users have complained they cannot get a delivery slot before April 15, with only click and collect available