London Underground workers are voicing concern about exposure to possible coronavirus infection despite a massive drop in the number of passengers travelling by Tube.

Sources suggest passenger numbers have reduced by half in the past few days, especially since the Prime Minister urged people to work from home.London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said the Underground and buses in the capital will run reduced services.

Transport for London is expected to run a Saturday timetable in the coming days and services could be scaled back even further as the outbreak intensifies.

There is speculation that a number of Tube stations will close, with priority given to those near hospitals and police stations.

On Monday, the Prime Minister identified London as being "a few weeks ahead" of other parts of the country in the spread of Covid-19.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union said it is monitoring the situation closely, adding it welcomed moves to give full sick pay to Tube cleaners after a long campaign on the issue.

Whilst we welcome the move to guarantee cleaners sick pay, we still have serious concerns over the exposure of our members to possible infection and the patchy approach to ensuring staff protection across the Tube network. We will take whatever action is required to protect the health, safety and livelihoods of our members in what we know is a high risk area of the transport system. Mick Cash, RMT

London Underground has introduced new cleaning measures, with stronger chemicals being used to disinfect areas.

The company said it had assumed a significantly reduced demand and will be running an appropriate service so healthcare professionals and other key workers can continue to get to work.