Boris Johnson has insisted the coronavirus threat would not stop him greeting people with a handshake.
The Prime Minister even said he had shaken the hands of everyone at a hospital where infected patients were being treated.
He was speaking at the unveiling of the UK's battle plan to treat the virus.
This included a warning that as many as one in five employees could be off work at the peak of the outbreak.
France recommended last week that people do not shake hands to prevent the spread of the virus, while Switzerland has said its residents should consider dropping the everyday greeting of kissing each other on the cheek.
Mr Johnson however, exhibited no such caution.
"I'm shaking hands," Mr Johnson said when asked how he planned to handle visiting dignitaries.
"I was at a hospital the other night where I think a few there were actually coronavirus patients and I shook hands with everybody, you'll be pleased to know, and I continue to shake hands.
He said people were free to make up their own minds, but referred to the scientific advice he had received: "Our judgement is washing your hands is the crucial thing."
Number 10 officials were keen to stress that the PM had not shaken the hands of any patients.
