Many local restaurants have repurposed their businesses as takeaways. Reputable chains and good restaurant kitchens are most likely to be geared towards professional, hygienic food preparation, so there would be minimal risk from a freshly cooked takeaway meal. 

The risk of packaging contamination can be minimised, Prof Bloomfield advises, by "emptying the contents [into a clean dish], disposing of the packaging into a refuse bag and washing your hands thoroughly before you eat". 

"Take food out of a container with a spoon and eat it with a knife and fork - not your fingers."

It might be better in the current circumstances to order hot, freshly cooked food, rather than cold or raw items. The Food Standards Agency does stress that the risk from food is low and that "there is no reason to avoid having ready-to-eat food delivered if it has been prepared and handled properly".

For the most cautious and the most vulnerable though, careful preparation and cooking may be reassuring. "With a pizza for example, if you wanted to be really safe, you could even pop it into the microwave for a couple of minutes," Prof Bloomfield adds.