The UK government has moved into the “delay” phase of its four-point coronavirus plan, with prime minister Boris Johnson calling the pandemic the “worst public health crisis for a generation”.
School trips abroad will be suspended from Friday, while older people and others with pre-existing health conditions have been warned not to go on cruises.
596 cases have now been confirmed in the UK, but according to Sir Patrick Vallance the chief scientific adviser to the government, around 5,000 to 10,000 in the UK could be infected in reality. The UK death toll is now up to ten.
Speaking after an emergency Cobra meeting, Johnson said: "Some people compare it [coronavirus] to seasonal flu, alas that is not right. Owing to the lack of immunity, this disease is more dangerous.
"It is going to spread further and I must level with you, I must level with the British public, many more families are going to lose loved ones before their time.”
Johnson added that the number of cases would “rise sharply”, but reassured that the NHS would be better placed to combat the outbreak if the virus' peak can be delayed by even a few weeks.
The government has not yet decided to suspend well-attended events such as sports fixtures, but it has issued new advice for those confirmed to have the virus or are suspected of having contracted it.
The advice warns affected people not to attend work or school, go out in public, nor use public transport.
