The number of people diagnosed with coronavirus in the UK has risen to 51, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said.
He said the threat of coronavirus to the UK is "increasingly serious" but stressed the Government and the health service are "well-prepared".
In a Commons statement, he said: "The situation facing the country is increasingly serious.
"Globally and at home the number of cases continues to rise.
"As of 9am today there were 51 confirmed cases in the UK and it's becoming more likely that we will see widespread transmission here in this country."
It follows Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiling a Government plan to tackle the spread of the disease.
Mr Johnson said he believed the British public would be able to meet the "national challenge" of the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak.
The Prime Minister was asked whether the UK still had the "bulldog spirit" to tackle the virus and accept the emergency measures that could be required.
Mr Johnson said he was confident the country would get through the outbreak "in very good shape".
He said: "I do think that this is a national challenge and I do think that we are faced with something that could be - the potential is there for this to be - something that our country has to get through.
"I have got absolutely no doubt that we have the resources, we have got the health service, we have got the expertise to do it.
"I am very confident the British public understand that. I think the British public can see exactly what the balance of risk is."
