Downing Street defends coronavirus strategy after Italy lockdown
Downing Street said today the coronavirus will spread in a “significant way” across the UK, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson chaired a Cobra meeting on the outbreak.
A Number 10 spokesman said Britain is still officially trying to contain the virus as part of its four-step coronavirus strategy.
But the government said experts now believe the number of UK Covid-19 infections will rise considerably higher than the current total of 280.
The spokesman also played down suggestions the UK government was not sufficiently grappling with the coronavirus outbreak, following Italy’s decision to quarantine an area of 16m people at the weekend.
Noting that “further steps” to delay the spread of Covid-19 would be taken according to scientific advice, he stressed they would be set out at the “optimum time”.
The government is concerned not to jump too soon, for fear it will create massive disruption with limited benefit.
Cobra discusses coronavirus delay tactics
Johnson this morning chaired yet another Cobra emergency committee meeting on the matter.
A “number of steps were discussed to contain and delay” the spread of Covid-19, the spokesman said.
Every department on Whitehall was represented at the meeting, as was every devolved administration.
There was no discussion of the breaking news from this morning that a TfL staff member tested positive for coronavirus.
The spokesman insisted the NHS was “well prepared for the outbreak” and that the government would continue to be led by scientific advice. Both the chief medical officer and chief scientific adviser attended the Cobra meeting.
Labour has been granted an urgent question on the coronavirus outbreak today.