Frontline NHS staff in the UK on visas will be given an automatic one-year extension to help the UK battle the coronavirus.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said doctors, nurses and paramedics whose visas were due to run out before 1 October would be given the 12-month extension free of charge so they could “focus fully on combatting coronavirus and saving lives”.
The new measure will apply to around 2,800 immigrants working in the health service, and will be extended to their family members “demonstrating how valued overseas NHS staff are to the UK”.
Ms Patel also confirmed the Home Office would lift the restriction on the number of hours student nurses and doctors can work in the NHS to make more staff available.
She said: “Doctors, nurses and paramedics from all over the world are playing a leading role in the NHS’s efforts to tackle coronavirus and save lives. We owe them a great deal of gratitude for all that they do."
Badly hit European countries such as Italy and Spain are hoping the peak of their outbreaks are on the horizon, but others are introducing new restrictions to control the spread.
In Poland, parks, beaches, squares and other public areas are to close. Essential workers must wear gloves and use work stations at least 1.5m (5ft) apart.
The new measures also mean supermarkets will only be allowed to let in three customers at a time for each checkout it operates. Poland has recorded 2,132 cases with 31 deaths; the new restrictions will last for at least two weeks.
Sweden, meanwhile, has been a bit of an odd one out in Europe by avoiding lockdowns or tight restrictions. That’s changing, though - the government has now formally banned visits to care homes for the elderly, after banning gatherings of more than 50 people. Sweden has nearly 4,500 cases and 180 deaths.

A key focus for Sweden's Public Health Agency now is trying to persuade Swedes to avoid travelling during the upcoming Easter weekend, when many typically flock to country cabins and cottages. Ministers have promised to expand testing of healthcare and emergency workers.