5K-10K people 'likely' have COVID-19 in UK
March 13, 2020 00:08
Britain said up to 10,000 people in the UK could be infected with the novel coronavirus, as it announced new measures to slow the spread of the outbreak.
Government chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance said there were currently 590 confirmed cases but it was "much more likely we've got somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 people infected".
Britain was "about four weeks" behind the level of cases currently seen in Italy and other worst-hit countries in Europe, he added.
Vallance was speaking after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the outbreak, which has so far killed 10 people in Britain, "the worst public health crisis for a generation" and warned it would get worse.
"Many more families are going to lose loved ones before their time," he told a news conference at his Downing Street office.
He announced new measures to combat the rapid spread of the virus, recommending anyone with COVID-19 symptoms stays at home for at least seven days.
He also said schools will be asked to cancel foreign trips and elderly people or those in poor health were told not to go on cruise ships.
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