Anyone with coronavirus symptoms is advised to self-isolate for seven days, the chief medical officer for Wales has said.
Dr Frank Atherton issued fresh advice as part of a Covid-19 media briefing on Thursday afternoon. You can follow our live updates here. The public health expert said Wales has now moved on to the "contain phase" to try and prevent the spread of the illness.
It means anyone with identified coronavirus symptoms should "work on the assumption" that they will have Covid-19.
Dr Atherton said: "The advice we are giving from tomorrow is if people have new symptoms such as a cough, fever or feel ill that they should self-isolate for seven days. It will involve personal sacrifice such as not going to work or school, but that will be the advice.”
Only certain groups of the population will now be routinely tested, such as healthcare workers, to allow them to continue providing care.
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson says this is “the worst public health crisis of a generation” and that “more families, many more, are going to lose loved ones before their time”.
Mr Johnson also said anyone showing symptoms should stay at home for seven days to “protect others and help slow the spread of the disease”.
All those over 70 are advised not to go on cruises and the UK Government is now advising there should no longer be school trips abroad.
Mr Johnson also said the government is planning to ban large events but is not doing so now, on the basis of current advice that it would not make a big difference. He said: "The scientific advice is this has little effect on the spread - but it does place a burden on other public services."
He also said: “We are not closing schools now. The scientific advice is that this could do more harm than good... but this could change. Schools should only close if they are specifically advised to do so”.
The Government Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, said the UK is four weeks behind Italy and that it’s more likely there are 5-10,000 people infected in the UK now, not the 590 that are known. But he says “that’s still a relatively small number”.
He says that the task now is to protect people for as long as possible.
In Wales, Dr Atherton said there is likely to be a rise in cases in April with its peak being in May or June.
He said children are experiencing milder version of the illness and it appears to be affecting elderly men the worst.
On Thursday, Vaughan Gething, cabinet secretary for health, said closing schools is not the "right thing to do" at this stage.
He also confirmed Wales' upcoming Six Nations clash against Scotland the Principality Stadium on Saturday will go ahead.
Mr Gething said he aware of teething problems within the 111 service, but said staff are working really hard in difficult circumstances.
The news comes as six further cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Wales. Go here for 13 coronavirus facts that show how worried you should really be .
Two cases are said to have no history of travel to a country where the virus is circulating, and are not known to have had contact with another confirmed case.
The symptoms of coronavirus
Symptoms may appear between two and 14 days after exposure and are:
- Fever/high temperature
- Cough
Shortness of breath
Reported illnesses have ranged from mild to severe and even death.
Public Health England (PHE) describes the symptoms of Covid-19 as being “flu-like”.
PHE said: “Based on current evidence, novel coronavirus (Covid-19) presents with flu-like symptoms including a fever, a cough or difficulty breathing.”
NHS Direct Wales has launched a coronavirus symptom checker which asks you questions to determine if you need to take further action or self isolate.
The key advice on helping to slow the spread of coronavirus
- Wash your hands
- If you have any coronavirus symptoms, however mild, either a new continuous cough or a high temperature, stay at home for at least seven days
- School trips abroad should be stopped
- People over 70 with serious medical conditions should not go on cruises
