Coronavirus: Top doctor explains how COVID-19 outbreak could affect life in the UK

It is “just a matter of time” until coronavirus spreads in the UK, England’s chief medical officer has warned.

Professor Chris Whitty said there could be a “social cost” if the virus intensifies and becomes “out of control”.

He warned mass gatherings such as sporting events may need to be cancelled, and schools could be forced to shut for more than two months.

Speaking at the Nuffield Trust summit, Prof Whitty warned: “If this becomes a global epidemic then the UK will get it.

“If it does not become a global epidemic, the UK is perfectly capable of containing and getting rid of individual cases leading to onward transmission.”

At present, there are 16 cases in the UK – the latest of which was confirmed in Northern Ireland on Thursday.

In other developments around the world:

• Mark Carney has told Sky News that Britain should prepare itself for an economic growth downgrade if the impact of COVID-19 deepens
• The Dow Jones index in the US tumbled by almost 1,200 points on Thursday – the biggest one-day drop in its history
• British cyclists Chris Froome and Mark Cavendish are being tested for coronavirus after the UAE Tour was cancelled
• Officials in California are trying to retrace the movements of a woman who could be the first to contract COVID-19 with no known connection to travel abroad
• The number of coronavirus cases in South Korea has exceeded 2,000 after 256 new diagnoses were confirmed
• The sharp downwards trend of new COVID-19 cases has continued in China, where there were 327 new cases and 44 deaths on Thursday.

Setback for Britons in Tenerife

More than 160 Britons remain confined to the H10 Costa Adeje Palace in the Canary Islands after four of the hotel’s guests were diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

It is believed that about 50 of them will be able to leave the hotel because they arrived on Monday, which is after infected guests had already left.

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But they are facing a setback because the Jet2 airline says it will not fly any of the hotel’s customers back to the UK until they have been tested negative for the coronavirus.

Some of those staying at the hotel in Adeje no longer require isolation, and they are being permitted to leave their rooms as long as they wear face masks, practise “adequate hand hygiene”, and take their temperature twice a day.

Northern Ireland on alert

On Thursday evening, the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Northern Ireland.

The patient, an adult, had returned from northern Italy – travelling from Dublin in the Republic of Ireland.

Officials are now “working rapidly” to identify anyone who came into contact with the patient.

People who were sat within two rows of the patient on the plane from Italy to Dublin are being contacted.

Dr Michael McBride, Northern Ireland’s chief medical officer, has stressed that the risk to the public is low.

He added: “We have been planning for the first positive case in Northern Ireland and have made clear that it was a question of when not if.

“We have robust infection control measures in place which enable us to respond immediately.

“Our health service is used to managing infections and would assure the public that we are prepared.”

Schools affected

A school in Derbyshire is going to remain closed for a second day over concerns about the coronavirus.

A parent of a pupil at Burbage primary school in Buxton was confirmed as having COVID-19 after contracting the disease in Tenerife.

The school is expected to reopen on Monday, and it is not believed that the parent had visited the premises upon returning back from their holiday.

Buxton Medical Practice, a two-minute drive from the school, is expected to reopen today after undergoing a deep clean.

Yesterday, patients were being urged not to attend appointments following the confirmed COVID-19 case.

Prince George and Princess Charlotte’s primary school, Thomas’s Battersea, is one of several that have sent pupils home as a precautionary measure following trips to northern Italy.

Sky News will broadcast Virus Outbreak: Global Emergency, a special programme on the coronavirus, at 2pm

(c) Sky News 2020: Coronavirus: Top doctor explains how COVID-19 outbreak could affect life in the UK