Coronavirus: Spread of virus in UK ‘likely’ says Boris Johnson

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The spread of coronavirus in the UK is “likely”, the PM has said, but a plan has been agreed to tackle it.

At the moment Boris Johnson said people “should go about business as usual”.

He said the UK was “very well prepared” and measures would be guided by scientific advice, with further details announced in the coming days and weeks.

He advised that “the single most useful thing” people could do was wash their hands “two times to Happy Birthday with hot water”.

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The Prime Minister 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.”

Meanwhile, the EU has raised the coronavirus risk level in member states to “moderate to high”.

Earlier on Monday, Public Health England (PHE) said widespread transmission of coronavirus in the UK was now “highly likely”.

Medical Director Prof Paul Cosford said the increase in cases in the UK and abroad meant the UK must be prepared.

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Media captionWidespread coronavirus transmission in UK “highly likely”

It comes after 13 new patients were diagnosed on Sunday.

The latest cases included 12 more in England and the first patient in Scotland, meaning the virus has now reached all four parts of the UK.

A health worker at an NHS cancer centre in Middlesex is also among the new cases.

Another is a staff member at Wimbledon College in south-west London, which has closed for deep cleaning.

Three of the new cases in England were linked to a man from Surrey, who was the first patient not to have been abroad recently and was instead infected within the UK.

A man who had been working in Bristol has also tested positive for the virus in Shenzhen, China, after flying from London to Hong Kong on Thursday, according to the Health Commission of Guangdong Province.

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