UK government sets out coronavirus action plan

By Karim El-Bar

LONDON (AA) - The number of coronavirus cases in the U.K. rose to 51 on Tuesday, as the British government set out its action plan on the same day.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told parliament: “As of 9 a.m. today there were 51 confirmed cases in the U.K. and it’s becoming more likely that we will see widespread transmission here in this country.”

At a press conference, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “Our country remains extremely well prepared.”

Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said: “Even for the highest-risk group, the great majority of people will survive this. If you look at the Chinese data, if you take the very oldest people, the great majority survive.”

He added: “It is important to stress that. And if you're talking about the low-risk groups the rate of mortality is well below 1%. I think there's always a danger people think this has actually got a higher risk than it actually has for them personally.”

The government document outlining its action plan contained a number of measures, most importantly basic personal hygiene such as properly washing hands for 20 seconds with hot water and soap.

Under a worst-case scenario, said the plan: “Action that would be considered could include population distancing strategies (such as school closures, encouraging greater home working, reducing the number of large scale gatherings) to slow the spread of the disease throughout the population, whilst ensuring the country’s ability to continue to run as normally as possible."

The army could also be brought in to back public sector services: "There are also well-practised arrangements for [the Ministry of] Defence to provide support to Civil Authorities if required."

The plan added that in “a stretching scenario, it is possible that up to one-fifth of employees may be absent from work during peak weeks,” and that if this applied to the police, then “with a significant loss of officers and staff, the police would concentrate on responding to serious crimes and maintaining public order.”

As for the National Health Service, it could “recommend a significantly different approach to admissions,” to cope with a rise in patients, adding that “staff rostering changes may be necessary, including calling leavers and retirees back to duty.”

The action plan said that all in all the government had “planned extensively over the years for an event like this, and the U.K. is therefore well prepared to respond in a way that offers substantial protection to the public.”

Globally, more than 88,000 people have been infected with coronavirus, with over 3,000 deaths.