After weeks of criticism for his failure to act quickly as the coronavirus pandemic spread around the globe, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that all nonessential commercial activities should be halted in the United Kingdom after the number of infected coronavirus patients spiked overnight.

Johnson said that “we need to push down further on this curve” during a press conference given from No. 10 Downing St. on Friday afternoon. His announcement comes on the same day that 18 people died in London after contracting the coronavirus.