More than 500,000 people have volunteered to help the NHS during the coronavirus pandemic.
When the government launched the scheme, it was hoping for 250,000 persons to sign up.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the volunteers would be “absolutely crucial” in the fight against Covid-19.
He offered “a special thank you to everyone who has volunteered”.
He added: “That [number] is already, in one day, as many volunteers as the population of Coventry.
“And so, to all of you, and to all the former NHS staff who are coming back now into the service, I say thank you on behalf of the entire country.”
The volunteers will support the 1.5 million vulnerable people who have been asked to “shield” themselves from COVID-19.
The number of UK deaths has risen to 465.
Mr Johnson said the country was coping “very well indeed amidst the most challenging possible circumstances”.
He added: “Never in our history has the government put its arms around people in the way we are doing now to help them get through this time”.
He also said ministers would be examining legal ways of rallying against those profiteering by hiking up prices during the lockdown.
