Warrnambool man now living in London is in strict lockdown as United Kingdom fights COVID-19

The Warrnambool-raised expat has just ticked over three weeks working from home and only venturing outside for groceries and exercise and he admits this lifestyle has become the new norm.

"It's not great," the 30-year-old said.

"But we're pretty lucky, there's a lot of other people in worse situations."

United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson enacted tough lockdown laws for the country to limit the spread of coronavirus.

Mr Jongebloed said from what he can see, people are taking the new laws very seriously.

"When it all started kicking off in China, panic didn't take off here too much," he said.

"When it hit Italy, it started to get a bit scary.

"It was in ski season and people were still going to The Alps and other parts of Switzerland, Italy and France.

"Nothing really happened, people were a bit more conscious and we saw a few more face masks on the tube which is not the most hygienic place at the best of time.

"About a month ago it really kicked off.

"When you go into the supermarkets, that's when it really hits.

"When you go through the supermarket and see everything's gone and all the restrictions, that's when it feels real.

"The waiting lines are 200 to 300 metres long because you have to be two metres apart.

"We're at the point where you're not allowed to sit down outside.

"If you're outside you have to be doing exercise, you can't go and just sit on the park bench otherwise the police can come out and tell you off."

In the United Kingdom, testing for COVID-19 has been scarcely done and experts fear the number of cases are much higher than the figures show.

"They're only testing when you get to hospital and even now they're only just starting to test all the frontline workers," Mr Jongebloed said.

"Our numbers are quite low in comparison to how bad they think it is.

"They're saying if you have symptoms to just sit at home and hope it passes.

"No one knows how long it will go for.

"Generally people have been really good. Where we are, you see the odd people here and there.

"Two weeks ago we went to Richmond Park, the two of us were walking around and there were lots of groups, but it was nothing like Bondi Beach.

"Then the government said that's not allowed.

"We don't have the stages like in Australia. For us it's whatever Boris says and everyone toes the line."

The couple's European travel plans have had to be cancelled or postponed amid the coronavirus pandemic but the pair are confident their jobs are safe.

The couple had their visas sponsored late last year and are now able to continue living in the United Kingdom for an additional three years.

"It didn't really cross our minds to come home," Mr Jongebloed said.

"We had a few friends who were on short-term contracts who have been let go and gone home but we're on decent jobs that are quite secure.

"To go home and leave secure jobs here and try and find new jobs, that's more of a risk for us.

"We have no relatives here so we're not at risk of infecting anyone we love.

"It's a bit too late to leave now anyway."

The strict- ockdown regulations are due to be lifted next weekend, but Mr Jongebloed doesn't believe London, or the United Kingdom, will go back to the way it was.

"With work, we initially had six weeks at home and we're now into week three, but I can't see everything opening up in that time," he said.

"The end of school year is about to come up so a lot of their equivalent year 12s aren't sitting exams.

"They've all shut schools and doing online and homeschooling so most-likely school won't go back to September.

"Canary Wharf is a few times bigger than the Melbourne Convention Centre and they've made that into a make-shift hospital.

"We have a few friends on the frontline and they're saying that they've never seen conditions like this.

"Everything's shut; trade sites, little corner stores, McDonalds, big department stores and there's no takeaway.

"We're coming into summer and it's getting quite light. The summers here are nowhere near as good as back home, but from a mental health perspective it feels better."

For the time-being Mr Jongebloed and his partner are sticking to their routine to create a sense of normalcy in isolation.

"We've purchased UNO, board games and card games," he said.

"We're going through gin very quickly.

"I think we subscribe to every streaming service to try and find something to pass the time and we're going through Game of Thrones.

"We've also jumped on board yoga."

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