Sky has confirmed that customers' engineering visits will continue to go ahead as normal during the UK's shutdown due to coronavirus.

On Monday night the government announced that the whole of the UK population has been mandated to stay at home for the foreseeable future, apart from for a limited number of circumstances such as collecting food supplies.

People deemed to be "key workers" are exempt from the restrictions, however - including Sky engineers, who install and repair satellite equipment.

In a statement on Twitter, Sky confirmed: "We've had a number of enquiries today asking whether engineer visits will go ahead & our contact centres will stay open. The Gov confirmed both in its published policy & in discussions with us directly that our engineers & call centre colleagues are classified as key workers...

"At this difficult time it's critical that we're able to keep people connected, informed & online to access the latest news & information. Our contact centres will be prioritising vulnerable customers. Everyone's safety is paramount & we will follow social distancing guidelines."

Almost 19,000 people worldwide have lost their lives to coronavirus so far, including 422 in the UK, although those numbers are expected to rise sharply in the weeks ahead.