The reintroduction of guidance to work from home appears to have had an immediate impact after reports of a sharp fall in transport usage.
Figures from location technology firm TomTom show cities across England experienced a decline in traffic on Monday morning.
In London at 8am, congestion levels were down from 72% two weeks ago to 60%.
Other locations to experience traffic reductions over the same period include Birmingham (from 87% to 55%), Brighton (from 59% to 44%), Bristol (from 60% to 41%), Leeds (from 74% to 43%), Leicester (from 98% to 51%) and Manchester (from 89% to 53%).
The figures represent the proportion of additional time required for journeys compared with free-flow conditions.
Several commuters took to Twitter after witnessing a drop in road traffic and passenger numbers on buses and trains.
A woman with the Twitter username @Katycat1960 wrote: “Waiting on my bus to work and the roads are very quiet this morning.
“I think the work from home (guidance) has already kicked in.”
A person with the username @zbris6 posted: “I’m in a flat slap bang in the middle of London and (the) roads are unbelievably quiet now.”
Another Twitter user in the capital, @afcvicki, wrote: “Everywhere is extremely quiet again. Have school holidays started? Or is everyone working from home? No one at the bus stop. No traffic. No people walking. Very weird for a Monday.”
Several people travelling by train to London reported that services were quieter on Monday morning.
A photograph of a near-empty escalator of Waterloo station was posted on Twitter by @lucitelu, with the caption: “Stations are quiet again. This is Waterloo, 9:15.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged people in England to work from home where possible from Monday.
This brought England in line with the rest of the UK.
