HIGH ALERT
NHS declares highest level emergency as coronavirus cases hit 51 & Boris Johnson reveals battle plan
THE NHS declared its highest level emergency as the number of coronavirus cases hits 51.
It comes hours after Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed his "battle plan" to kill off the deadly bug in the UK.
Read our coronavirus live blog for all the latest news and updates
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NHS England has mandated hospitals test all patients in intensive care who are showing signs of a lung infection for coronavirus.
All trusts have been ordered to set up 24 hour, seven-day a week incident teams that will be overseen by regional and national teams to coordinate the NHS response in the event of a surge of cases.
NHS chiefs have also been told to draft up plans to segregate wards such as A&E department, critical care and diagnostic areas amid fears of a "significant escalation" in cases.
Trusts will discharge patients earlier and consider plans to treat patients remotely.
NHS England have also ordered hospitals to review their numbers of intensive care beds and how they could be increased.
Professor Keith Willett, NHS England’s strategic incident director, sent a letter today to health chiefs instructing hospitals to "review your critical care and high dependency capacity and consider how you could increase capacity and the impact of doing so",
NHS England has clarified we have been at a Level 4 since January, but it has only emerged tonight.
Soldiers could be deployed to guard vital sites so the police are free to deal with "maintaining public order", the Government said today in a 25-page doomsday plan on Covid-19.
And up to one in five could be off work sick during the peak of the crisis, it was predicted.
The PM has this morning launched his battle plan to save as many lives as possible while ensuring Britain goes about business as usual.
It includes sweeping measures which will be considered in the coming weeks, such as shutting down schools, banning mass gatherings, cancelling NHS operations and encouraging people to work from home.
The PM told a packed press conference at No10 earlier as the number of cases rose to 51 today: "The army is of course always ready as and when, but that is under the worst case scenario."
Plans are in place for anything from a mild pandemic through to a severe prolonged pandemic as experienced in 1918 known as Spanish Flu.
Police could also be told to switch their focus to only tackle "serious crime" if emergency services start to buckle under pressure.
But Brits were warned that it is "more likely than not that the UK will be significantly affected" with up to 80 per cent of the population catching it.
10 schools are closed today over suspected cases.
His dramatic battle plan includes:
- Urging millions of Brits to work from home to reduce the risk of catching it
- Schools could be shut for up to three months
- Pensioners who are most at risk from the disease could be advised to stay away from public events like the VE Day celebrations in May
- Large scale events like concerts and sports matches could be cancelled
- Plans to call retired doctors and nurses back into the NHS
- Giving schools permission to have larger class sizes
- Emergency laws to tackle the outbreak - including allowing border officials to refuse entry to Britain of anyone accused of carrying the virus
The Government's draconian plan said the killer bug has "the potential to spread extensively", but the great majority of people will have just mild symptoms.
Boris said this morning it was "highly likely we will see a growing number of UK cases" and he "understood"; the widespread concern among the British public.
He again stressed that the best thing Brits can do is to wash their hands for 20 seconds to stop the spread of infection.
Mr Johnson said: “Crucially, we must not forget what we can all do to fight this virus, which is to wash our hands, you knew I was going to say this, but wash our hands with soap and water.
“And forgive me for repeating this but there will be people who will be tuning into this for the first time: wash your hands with soap and hot water for the length of time it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice.
“It’s simple advice but it’s the single most important thing we can do, as I think our experts would attest.”
But he was confident that Brits would step up to the plate to the "national challenge" - and the virus can be beaten.
We will get through this and everyone has a part to play
Matt Hancock
Health officials will put a range of situations to ministers to choose from - and give them evidence on how effective they might be.
Officials are still working on the event that the virus can still be contained, but the urgent plans are for what might happen if it can't be.
Britain will then move onto new "delay and mitigate" phases to try and stop it spreading and infecting millions.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the Commons earlier that bosses must step up and prioritise the welfare of their staff.
And he said to the public they must do all they can to help tackle the spread, saying: "It's in your interest, your family's interest and in the national interest.
"We will get through this and everyone has a part to play.
"This is a national effort, we need everyone to listen to and act on the official medical advice."
He also revealed the number of NHS 111 staff handlers had shot up by 500.
The virus has reached every corner of the UK and a second person in Ireland has now become infected.
MONTHS OF CHAOS
There will be a focus on helping vulnerable groups as medical experts think this is best way to reduce the number of deaths.
Local authorities will have advice on how deal with increased deaths if the outbreak reaches a crisis point.
One in one hundred Brits could die from the virus - and older people face even higher risks, the Government's top doctor said today.
Professor Chris Whitty said "probably around 1 per cent of people who get this virus might end up dying".
The PM added: "Most people will unquestionably get through it."
Mr Hancock said last night it will likely be "several weeks" before it could become widespread in the UK.
Officials think the virus could take six weeks to peak before gripping the country for months.
A 12-week window is being examined from the start of a possible epidemic, until the country is able to get it back under control.
Multiple peaks could be possible too, the top scientists warned.
It will likely take five days for the number of cases to spiral so high that emergency plans will have to kick in, they added.
At the moment they are gradually creeping up, but they could start jumping up quickly and force a move into the next stage.
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What you can do to help in the UK fight against coronavirus
- Follow public health advice on handwashing regularly for at least 20 seconds
- Reduce the impact and spread of misinformation by only relying on trusted sources like the NHS website, and Gov.UK
- Check and follow the latest FCO travel advice when travelling and planning to travel
- Ensure you and your family's vaccinations are up to date to reduce pressures on the NHS
- Checking on vulnerable family, friends and neighbours
- Using NHs 111, pharmacies and GPs responsible, and only go the hospital when you really need to
- Being understanding of the pressures the health and social care systems may be under and receptive to changes
- Accepting that the advice for managing the illness for most people will be self-isolating at home and over the counter medications
- Checking for new advice as the situation changes
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WORK AND YOUR RIGHTS
Brits could be encouraged to work from home, but they won't be be forced to.
A fifth of the workforce could be at home and sick at the peak of the spread.
Anyone who has to take time off with the illness, or has to self-isolate after returning from an affected country, is entitled to sick pay.
Ministers are poised to announce emergency action to help gig economy workers from missing out, too.
Brits on Universal Credit who can't meet their commitments are being told to contact their job centres for help.
POLICE TO LEAVE LOW LEVEL CRIME
Emergency services are expected to enact plans to make sure they are able to keep up with their work.
If there were a huge chunk of police were off sick, focus could shift to concentrate on "serious crime and maintaining public order".
It means that smaller crimes would be chucked to the side for now.
SCHOOLS TO CLOSE
Schools could be thrown into chaos with the doomsday plans - with GCSE and A-Level exams at risk too.
Pupils could be forced to sit their tests in the summer holidays if the deadly bug holds the nation hostage.
Mr Johnson told the press conference: “On school closures we don’t think schools should be closing in principle if possible they should stay open but school authorities should follow the advice of Public Health England."
PANIC BUYING
Supermarket shelves have been stripped by panicked shoppers who fear a coronavirus outbreak in the UK.
Brits have started to stockpile household items like toilet roll, pet food, hand sanitiser, pasta and rice.
Some shops have already started to run out of hand sanitiser and face masks, while others have limited the number of hand gels to two per customer.
The chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, said there was “absolutely no reason to do any panic buying of any sort,” adding: “People do not need to keep large supplies of things”.
IS YOUR HOLIDAY SAFE?
If you'd planned a trip to mainland China or , you should get a full refund from your airline or travel company - as the Foreign Office has advised against it.
If you want to cancel a trip elsewhere, you may find it difficult to get a refund.
It's important not to ignore travel advice by the FCO, or you risk invalidating your insurance policy if you decide to act against it.
Most policies only pay out for a specific list of reasons, and the coronavirus is unlikely to be part of them.
What are the next phases in tackling the outbreak?
DELAY PHASE
- Publicity campaigns to promote good hygiene measures among the British public
- Population distancing measures will be considered such as school closures, encouraging people to work from home and cancelling large scale gatherings like concerts and sports matches
- Measures to protect vulnerable individuals or those with illnesses and who are more at risk will be looked at
RESEARCH PHASE
- Prepare for multiple waves of the virus to occur.
- Gather evidence about which interventions have so fat been effective at containing the spread.
MITIGATE STAGE
- Drawing down on stockpiles of drugs and required medicines if needed
- Early discharge from hospital and look after people in their own homes instead
- Non urgent care could be delayed to prioritise more sick people
- Calling on NHS staff who have left to return back to help fight the epidemic
- Work with local councils to provide advice on increase in deaths
- Distributing the UK's stockpiles of key medicines and equipment
- Possible new laws to keep systems working like ensuring doctor's licenses are valid and making sure class sizes can be bigger if needed
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UK TRAVEL
Matt Hancock warned there could be "no go areas" set up under a worst-case scenario.
He Sky News: "We don’t rule out that kind of thing, but... the impact of the disease is greatest for elderly and vulnerable people."
At the moment there are no plans to cut off any cities or areas in the UK.
Medical officers said because none of the cases have been contained in one place, it would be very ineffective to do so.
Visits to care homes could be limited to protect the elderly in future.
SPORT EVENTS MAY BE BINNED
Both the FA and Premier League have held talks about what do if large gatherings of people are banned - with matches in empty stadiums emerging as a possibility.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said officials may have to look at restricting participation in the London Marathon or even cancelling the event due to the outbreak but added it was "far too early" to make any decisions.
The Ireland-Italy Six Nations match has been postponed, but England-Wales and Scotland-France this weekend are set to go ahead at the moment.
There are even fears that coronavirus could impact on the Olympics in Japan later this year.
But medical experts said this morning that cancelling large events may not have a huge impact on the spread - as the virus is more likely to be caught in small groups than in huge crowds.
PERSONAL HYGIENE
Boris today urged Brits to play their part in helping fight the deadly coronavirus.
Washing your hands for at least 20 seconds - or the time it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice - is being encouraged as the best way to curb it.
The public has also been urged to clean their smartphone screens twice a day with alcohol wipes to help combat the spread.
Brits must seek advice if they have returned from the affected areas - and not to travel to those places where the virus is already widespread.
NHS
Services could be reduced as part of the NHS battle plan.
Non urgent operations may have to be scrapped to take care of people with the virus.
Brits could also be discharged from hospital earlier in order to free up more space.
Hospital worker shifts could also be altered, and leavers or retirees called "back to duty" to help out.
ECONOMY
Bank of England governor Mark Carney today warned that the economic shock from the virus could "prove large".
He stressed that though the effects could be severe, the effect will "ultimately be temporary". The impact on business is uncertain at the moment, the Government says.
Ministers have held talks with social media companies about stopping the spread of fake news online, too.
HMRC could use powers to help businesses with cash flow issues if they go into difficulty, it was also reported today.
Latest travel advice after coronavirus outbreak
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Shaking hands won't spread virus
BRITS should have no fears about shaking hands with people as its unlikely to affect spreading of coronavirus, the Health Secretary said today.
As the virus continues to spread across the country, Matt Hancock insisted people were not putting themselves at risk by greeting others.
It comes after videos of members of the public tapping their feet together as a greeting instead have gone viral online.
Mr Hancock told the BBC earlier: "The advice is the impact of shaking hands is negligible. As long as you wash your hands, shaking hands is OK.
"The end of handshaking is not something the scientists are recommending."
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