Samuel Osborne, Chiara Giordano, Vincent Wood, Rory Sullivan
Coronavirus news – live: UK death toll rises and infections spread as health chief warns epidemic peak 'expected within fortnight', amid panic in Italy over growing crisis
England’s deputy chief medical officer has said the UK will see “many thousands of people” contract coronavirus.
It comes as a nationwide lockdown comes into force in Italy, with all public gatherings cancelled and schools and universities closed. The Foreign Office is warning British citizens against all but essential travel to the country, while airlines across the globe have suspended flights as the outbreak continues.
Anyone with even just a mild fever will be told to isolate themselves for a week as Britain is expected to soon move into the next stage of fighting the epidemic. The number of UK cases rose to 382 on Tuesday, as a sixth person died after contracting the disease. There are now more than 114,000 cases of Covid-19 and more than 4,000 related deaths worldwide.
And junior minister and MP Nadine Dorries, 62, confirmed she has been infected by the virus. Ms Dorries, who represents mid-Bedfordshire in the Commons, was among those to have helped draft the government's response to the epidemic.
Dr Jenny Harries, England's deputy chief medical officer, has said the UK will see "many thousands of people" become infected by Covid-19 "in due course".
She told Sky News: "We currently have relatively few cases here, which is why we are still in the containment phase.
"Obviously we will have significant numbers in a way in which the country is not used to. This is the sort of thing that professionally we're trained for and very rarely see, almost in a professional lifetime.
"Large numbers of the population will become infected because it's a naive population, nobody has got antibodies to this virus currently.
"We will see many thousands of people infected by coronavirus, that's what we're seeing in other countries and the important thing for us is to make sure that we manage those infections."
Doctor describes 'war' against coronavirus in Italian hospital - and appears to advocate greater sense of panic
An Italian doctor has shared a first-hand account from the front line of the country's increasingly desperate efforts to combat Covid-19, amid a rapidly increasing number of deaths and cases.
Dr Daniele Macchini, who works as an intensive care unit physician, in Bergamo, near Milan, described watching his hospital's wards and ICU slowly being emptied to make room for the incoming patients.
His post argues against the prevailing effort to quell widespread panic, suggesting it may have contributed to the country's current plight.
"I understand the need not to create panic, but when the message of the dangerousness of what is happening does not reach people I shudder," he said.
He said "the war has literally exploded" as cases multiplied, with 15 to 20 people being admitted with coronavirus symptoms every day.
In a translation being widely shared on social media, Dr Macchini said hospital staff were exhausted, but that he can see "a solidarity of all of us".
Got a cold? You'll soon have to stay home for a week
If you have a mild fever or mild respiratory tract infection you could soon find you have to stay home and self-isolate for a week.
The government is expected to ramp up measures to battle the virus as it moves to the next stage of fighting the disease in the next 10 to 14 days.
Under the new measures, people without specific coronavirus symptoms, or who are at known risk of having the virus, would have to stay home for seven days.
It comes as England's deputy chief medical officer warned the UK will eventually see "many thousands of people" infected.
Moldova bans foreigners from coronavirus-hit countries
Moldova has banned foreigners from flying in from countries affected by coronavirus.
The ban came into effect today and will last for three days after the country reported its first Covid-19 case.
The country's prime minister admitted it could not completely ban flights, but only Moldovan citizens will be allowed to board planes departing for Moldova from countries with cases of the virus.
A 100-year-old man with a range of health conditions has defied the odds to beat coronavirus and return home.
He is the oldest person to have recovered from Covid-19 after being admitted to hospital two weeks ago.
The man, who was hospitalised in Wuhan - the Chinese city at the centre of the worldwide outbreak, reportedly had underlying health conditions including Alzheimer's disease, heart failure and hypertension.
Halifax workers sent home after employee tests positive
A Halifax call centre has been closed down in Belfast, Northern Ireland, after a worker tested positive for Covid-19.
Staff have been told to self-isolate, work from home or from a contingency site while the building is deep cleaned.
It is thought to affect up to 1,000 people who work at the operation.
A primary and secondary school sharing the same site in Armagh have also been closed for deep cleaning after a youngster was diagnosed with the virus.
There have been 12 cases of coronavirus in Northern Ireland so far - but health minister Robin Swan warned between 50 per cent to 80 per cent of people could contract the disease in a worst case scenario.
There seems to be some confusion over which airlines are allowing travellers to fly between Italy and the UK.
Airports remain open across Italy - but British Airways appears to have cancelled all 60 of its flights between the UK and Italy today, while easyJet also appears to have grounded all flights between the two countries.
Ryanair has severely cut back on its services, but appears to be continuing some flights in order to get people home.
Here are the latest travel updates from Simon Calder:
There will be some welcome respite for mortgage payers in Italy after the coronavirus outbreak when payments will be suspended.
The country's deputy economy minister said payments will be suspended for individuals and households during a radio interview today.
Italy's banking lobby ABI has previously said lenders representing 90 per cent of total banking assets would offer debt moratoriums to small firms and households grappling with the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.
The president of the European Parliament is in self-isolation at his home in Brussels after travelling to Italy.
Davide Sassoli, an Italian, decided to quarantine himself as a precaution - but his comrades will be glad to hear the European Parliament will continue its work without him because "no virus can block democracy".
The European Parliament decided to shorten its monthly gathering yesterday because of concerns that hundreds of people sitting together could spread the virus.
China's president visits virus epicentre Wuhan as cases fall President Xi Jinping is briefed about Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan (Xie Huanchi/Xinhua/AP) China's president has visited the city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, for the first time since the epidemic began.
It appears to be a positive signal that the country's efforts to control the virus are working, as the number of new cases in mainland China has slowed significantly in the past week.
The country was initially criticised over its early response to the outbreak, with some claiming it had suppressed information and downplayed risks, but its draconian measures to curb the spread of the virus, including the lockdown of Wuhan and Hubei, appear to have paid off.
Mainland China had 19 new coronavirus infections on Monday, down from 40 a day earlier. This marks the third consecutive day of no new locally transmitted coronavirus cases outside of Hubei.
China's attention is now turning towards preventing imported infections from other countries, including hot spots such as Italy, South Korea and Iran.
Barcelona vs Napoli has become the latest sporting event to be played behind closed doors as coronavirus continues to take its toll.
All sports in Italy have also been suspended until at least the beginning of April as the country struggles to deal with the deadly outbreak, but Cheltenham Festival will still go ahead this afternoon.
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