At least 192,000 people in Merseyside are in a high risk group who are more likely to develop serious illness if they are infected by the coronavirus.

According to the most recently available population estimates, around 192,995 people in Merseyside are over the age of 70 and will need to isolate themselves to reduce their chances of developing severe complications should they catch the virus.

The government advice for those over 70, or with underlying health conditions to socially distance themselves from other people for at least 12 weeks.

It is strongly advised that they avoid contact with someone who is displaying symptoms of coronavirus, avoid public transport, work from home if possible, avoid large and small gatherings in public spaces or with friends and family, and contact their GP and other services by phone or online.

Speaking yesterday while introducing stricter rules on social distancing, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was crucial everyone followed social distancing rules to prevent the health system being overwhelmed by the coronavirus outbreak.

Prime Minister Johnson said: “To put it simply, if too many people become seriously unwell at one time, the NHS will be unable to handle it – meaning more people are likely to die, not just from Coronavirus but from other illnesses as well.

“So it’s vital to slow the spread of the disease.

“Because that is the way we reduce the number of people needing hospital treatment at any one time, so we can protect the NHS’s ability to cope – and save more lives.

“And that’s why we have been asking people to stay at home during this pandemic.”

Separate guidelines announced this week also advise people seriously at risk with certain health conditions should begin “shielding”.

They will receive direct contact from the NHS asking them to stay at home at all times and avoid any face-to-face contact for a period of at least 12 weeks.

The reasons for people in our region falling into this groups varies, with 62,900 people affected by chronic kidney disease and 44,000 having COPD.

However, only those with severe COPD are currently being advised to completely “shield” from society.

This is the same as for asthma sufferers, of which there are approximately 94,900 in Merseyside.

The data on people suffering certain conditions is modelled from the latest NHS Quality and Outcomes Framework data (2018/19), using the number of patients listed at each GP surgery to get figures at a local authority level.

That means the figures only represent estimates.

It is worth noting that some people may suffer from more than one condition, and those over the age of 70 may also count among those with an underlying health condition, meaning a total figure for Merseyside can't be arrived at by simply by adding up the number of people with each condition.