Widespread coronavirus outbreak across UK is ‘highly likely’, top health official warns

He warned that there will come a point "where we reduce social contact if we see more widespread transmission".

Asked whether it was OK still to offer handshakes, he said he thought so.

But he said the next stage of dealing with the outbreak could involve asking "people to isolate themselves at home if there's a member of their family who's infected".

He added: "We may well get to a position where we say carry on going to school, carry on going to work but if you can work from home that's a very sensible thing to do, and think of all the different ways you can reduce your social contact outside of those activities."

Meanwhile an infectious disease expert has warned that 100,000 Brits could die from Covid-19.

Professor Paul Hunter, an expert in infectious diseases, told This Morning: “I’m substantially less optimistic than I was six weeks ago… I think it’s pretty close to inevitable [that we’ll see a global spread]."

He went on to estimate that there could be close to “one hundred thousand fatalities” in the UK and with the virus continuing "into the summer".

Prof Hunter added: “Personally, I don’t think it will disappear completely and I think we will see a resurgence of it come winter, early next year, and hopefully by then we’ll have a vaccine to protect our most vulnerable people.”

It comes after official papers, seen by The Sun, last week revealed four in five Brits could become infected by the deadly coronavirus.

Ministers are now considering the assumption that more than 50million people in the UK could catch the killer bug.

Today the Prime Minister held an emergency Cobra meeting on coronavirus where he was expected to warn ministers that Covid-19 will present a "significant challenge" to the country.

Boris Johnson said the spread of the coronavirus was "likely" to become "more significant" for the UK in the coming days.

He said: "We have also agreed a plan so that if and when it starts to spread, as I'm afraid it looks likely it will, we are in a position to take the steps necessary to... contain the spread of the disease as far as we can, and to protect the most vulnerable.

"We will be announcing that plan not just tomorrow but in the days and weeks ahead as the thing develops."

Scotland's First Minster Nicola Sturgeon has said the country is in the "containment phases" of dealing with coronavirus.

Speaking at St Andrew's House in Edinburgh alongside Health Secretary Jeane Freeman and Scotland's Chief Medical Officer Dr Catherine Calderwood, she said Scotland was not at the stage of having to cancel major events.

She said: "We are not at that stage yet and decisions about if and when we reach that stage and what the implications will be will be guided very firmly by the scientific advice the four governments are receiving."

'Inevitable spread'

Meanwhile the Health Secretary admitted it was "inevitable" coronavirus would continue to spread.

Matt Hancock would not rule out following China's lead in shutting down cities if the Covid-19 outbreak escalates.

Three of the latest cases are family members of a man from Surrey who tested positive on Friday.

He had no recent travel history and is the first person to contract Covid-19 within the UK.

All four are adults, including one more from Surrey and two from West Sussex.

Prof Whitty said another new patient, from Essex, had not recently travelled to an infected area.

He added investigations were ongoing as to whether the patient had contracted it "directly or indirectly" from someone who had recently travelled abroad.

New cases

Another case is a person from Bury, Greater Manchester, who was infected in Italy and has now been taken to a specialist NHS infection centre.

Three cases were confirmed in West Yorkshire, including two Leeds residents - who became infected in Iran - while one is from Bradford who had been in Italy.

Two of the new patients are from Hertfordshire, including a clinician at the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, which is part of East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust.

A statement from the trust said: "All individuals who were in contact with the clinician have been identified and the appropriate measures taken.

"The risk to patients and staff at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre is very low and we are working with individual patients to appropriately manage their care."

One other case is from London and the other is from Gloucestershire and linked to a member of staff at a Tetbury school in the Cotswolds, who was identified on Saturday.

Debra Lapthorne, centre director for Public Health England (PHE) South West, said: "The two cases are linked and both became infected whilst in Northern Italy.

"Staff from PHE have continued to support St Mary's Primary School, Tetbury, where one of the cases works."

In a letter to parents, headteacher Mrs Jo Woolley said that while it was not necessary to close the school from a health perspective, it will close until at least Wednesday due to "operational difficulties" with staff members.

A staff member at an infant school in Berkshire was confirmed to have tested positive on Saturday.

In an email, Willow Bank Infant School headteacher Michelle Masters urged parents to "remain calm and follow the recommended hygiene procedures".

Emergency powers

On Sunday, the Department of Health and Social Care announced every department will have a ministerial lead on the virus, and a cross-Whitehall "war room" is being set up to roll out an enhanced public information campaign.

Emergency powers designed to restrict Covid-19 if it becomes endemic, due to be announced this week, would only be "temporary", said Mr Hancock.

He confirmed that "population distancing measures", such as banning public gatherings and cancelling football matches, could be considered by the Government, while closing schools may be "necessary".

The Foreign Office confirmed that non-essential staff, as well as dependants, are to be pulled out of the British Embassy in Tehran.

The Republic of Ireland reported its first case on Saturday, with a secondary school to be closed for 14 days after authorities identified its pupils and teachers as having been in contact with the male patient.

Globally, the number of people killed worldwide by the virus exceeds 3,000 and there have been almost 90,000 confirmed cases.

While most patients only have mild symptoms, Covid-19 appears to be much more deadly than seasonal flu.

In Italy, which has the most cases in Europe, the number of infections doubled in 48 hours over the weekend.

Italy now has 1,694 confirmed cases and has seen 34 deaths.