A care home chain with 11,000 residents has asked family and friends to refrain from routinely visiting their loved ones amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Barchester Care Homes, which runs more than 200 care homes in the UK, sent a letter to residents, patients and visitors saying "as a preventative measure, we are asking visitors, including family members and friends, to stop routinely visiting our care homes and hospitals until further notice".
"We have not taken this decision lightly and appreciate that this may cause some discomfort, but feel this is a necessary step to take."
The letter also said "external entertainment" had been cancelled and relatives must speak to the general manager of each home before making "non-routine visits". The letter said if a case was confirmed in a care home, then all visits would stop.
However, a spokeswoman for the firm later said the language had now been "clarified" and the firm meant visits should be "minimised".
A statement said: "We would like to reassure residents and families across all of our care homes that we are fully adhering to guidelines from Public Health England with regards to coronavirus.
"In aligning with this, we have asked that friends and relatives minimise their visits to residents in our homes. Some of our residents are vulnerable to the virus and we therefore need to work together to limit the risk.
"We are working hard to ensure residents and families are able to contact each other through other means."
Britain is bracing for its coronavirus outbreak to worsen with tens of thousands more people likely to be tested in the coming weeks.
Drive-thru swabbing sites are being set up, but people who fear they may have the potentially deadly bug should call NHS 111 to report their symptoms or concerns.
It is the first step towards being checked for Covid-19 - a new strain of coronavirus which emerged in China - but some Britons have complained that they have been forced to wait up to two weeks for a test.
It takes about five days on average for symptoms to show, meaning the infected can spread the virus before they feel unwell.
Health chiefs expect the UK outbreak to begin peaking within a fortnight and there are fears that more than 100,000 people could end up catching the flu-like illness.
In the "delay" phase - the second of four stages in the UK's action plan - schools could be closed, large gatherings could be banned and millions could be told to work from home to prevent the spread of the illness.
Currently, the NHS is only testing those who have symptoms that are consistent with coronavirus - such as a fever, cough or shortness of breath - or have been in close contact with someone who has been diagnosed.
The symptoms of Covid-19 are similar to those of the flu and some are also displayed in people with a common cold.
People who report symptoms or concerns after returning from countries with severe outbreaks, including Italy, Iran and parts of South Korea and China, will be tested.
Those returning travellers should stay indoors and avoid contact with other people even if they do not have symptoms.
People can test positive even if they aren't displaying symptoms.
There have been calls for testing to be expanded to others.
