The UK government is considering all options from closing schools to isolating entire cities if the outbreak of the coronavirus continues to escalate, Matt Hancock has said.
The health secretary confirmed on Sunday that ministers would this week publish a plan to explain how they may tackle Covid-19 if it becomes a pandemic. This could include banning large gatherings of people at sporting events or concerts, he said.
“Under the worst case scenario we would have to take some quite significant actions that would have social and economic disruption,” he told BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show. “It may be necessary to close some schools and other population distancing measures.”
Asked if the government might follow the Chinese strategy of isolating individual cities with large outbreaks, he said: “There’s clearly a huge economic and social downside to that but we don’t take anything off the table at this stage because you have got to make sure you have all the tools available if necessary.”
Hancock said the government would be publishing its “battle plan” for the measures it would take under a worst-case scenario for the outbreak. He said: “It may be necessary to close some schools, but right now, people should not be closing schools if there isn’t a positive case.”
He confirmed that other “population distancing measures” could include banning public gatherings of more than 5,000 people as the French government has announced.
He said: “We are looking at all those sorts of things. We do not rule them out.”
Q&AHow can I protect myself and others from the coronavirus outbreak?
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The World Health Organization is recommending that people take simple precautions to reduce exposure to and transmission of the coronavirus, for which there is no specific cure or vaccine.
The UN agency advises people to:
- Frequently wash their hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or warm water and soap
- Cover their mouth and nose with a flexed elbow or tissue when sneezing or coughing
- Avoid close contact with anyone who has a fever or cough
- Seek early medical help if they have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, and share their travel history with healthcare providers
- Advice about face masks varies. Wearing them while out and about may offer some protection against both spreading and catching the virus via coughs and sneezes, but it is not a cast-iron guarantee of protection
Many countries are now enforcing or recommending curfews or lockdowns. Check with your local authorities for up-to-date information about the situation in your area.
In the UK, NHS advice is that anyone with symptoms should stay at home for at least 7 days.
If you live with other people, they should stay at home for at least 14 days, to avoid spreading the infection outside the home.
The UK has 23 confirmed cases but there have been warnings more will follow.
It emerged on Saturday that newly retired doctors and nurses could be asked to return to the NHS as part of the plan to combat a possible further spread of the coronavirus.
If the outbreak worsens, people could also be urged to work from home under the government’s contingency proposals.
A minister in every government department will be focused on tackling the outbreak while a team of experts will drive a public health campaign.
Hancock also played down a report in the Guardian that England has only 15 available beds for adults to treat the most severe respiratory failure.
Referring to ventilators, he said the Guardian’s figures were out of date. “We have 50 now, and we can ramp that up to 500. And then if necessary 5,000 beds that are able to cope with the worst impact of this virus,” he said.
On Saturday evening, Willow Bank infant school in Woodley, Berkshire, issued a statement saying one of its staff had tested positive for the virus – and it would be closing for a deep clean.
Meanwhile, more than 200 British holidaymakers locked down at a quarantined hotel in Tenerife have been told they will be allowed to fly home if they test negative for coronavirus.
The travellers have been quarantined at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel since Tuesday after four Italians contracted the virus. Some have already been allowed to leave.
The Foreign Office is in contact with operators and travel agents about plans to return Britons to the UK.
The government says it will publish its “updated action plan” on its response to the virus later this week. It is based on existing plans for a pandemic flu outbreak and has been adapted for the coronavirus.
A team of scientists and media experts will be set up to work on a public information campaign – with posters and social media adverts telling people to wash their hands for 20 seconds or more with soap and water – from a so-called “war room” in the Cabinet Office.
Whitehall officials say they will be working closely with their counterparts in the devolved administrations.
Hancock also confirmed that non-emergency surgery, including hip and knee replacements, may be cancelled.
He said: “I don’t want to do that. But these have to be clinical decisions. Clinicians have to make decisions about what is the most important and effective use of NHS resources. They do this all the time.”