STOP THE SPREAD
Millions of Brits could work from home and will be told to avoid travel if coronavirus spreads rapidly in UK
MILLIONS of Brits could be told to work from home and avoid travel if coronavirus starts to spread rapidly across the UK.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out the government's new battle plan tomorrow - in a desperate bid to stop the killer bug from gripping Britain.
Follow our latest coronavirus live blog for all the news and updates.
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Brits will be encouraged to work from home and told to avoid unnecessary travel in the ‘social distancing’ strategy which hopes to delay the peak of a coronavirus outbreak.
The Government will not force businesses to make their employees work from home or monitor their travelling but will encourage firms to follow the measures if the virus spreads.
The plan also looks to bring back health professionals who have retired while relaxing rules around staff to pupil ratios in education and health care settings.
SPREAD 'HIGHLY LIKELY'
Boris Johnson said: “It is highly likely coronavirus will spread more widely in the coming days and weeks, which is why we’re making every possible preparation.
“We have agreed a plan, which I will set out in detail today, so if the virus should spread, we are ready to take necessary steps to contain it and protect the most vulnerable.
“But we can all continue to do our bit to fight this virus - by washing our hands with soap and water for the length of time it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice.”
It is highly likely coronavirus will spread more widely in the coming days and weeks, which is why we’re making every possible preparation.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson
Offices, tubes and trains are considered a hotbed for spreading the virus.
Dr Michael Head, from University of Southampton, said: “The extensive London public transport system provides potential opportunities for transmission, with many people mixing in relatively small spaces."
Mr Johnson will be joined by the Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty and Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance in a press conference about the strategy tomorrow.
It comes as the number of people in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus rose to 39 today.
OFFICES SHUT
Several schools and offices have already been disrupted amid the chaos.
Last week Media firm OMD, based in central London, shut its office and told around 1,000 staff to work from home after an employee returned from a foreign trip with flu-like symptoms.
US oil company Chevron told 300 Canary Wharf-based staff to work from home for the foreseeable future after an employee reported flu-like symptoms.
The firm was put on red alert after the worker reported sick following a trip to a country infected with coronavirus.
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Schools across Britain are also in lockdown, with many teachers and pupils having returned from virus-stricken regions of northern Italy during the half term.
Today Churston Ferrers Grammar School in South Devon confirmed a pupil at the school tested positive for coronavirus.
Another school in Hertfordshire said it would remain open, despite confirming a parent at the school had tested positive for the virus.
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