Coronavirus: UK set for move to delay phase as 10th person dies

Boris Johnson is expected to move to the delay phase of tackling the UK spread of coronavirus as two more deaths were announced in British hospitals.

Ten people have now died in the UK after testing positive for Covid-19, while the number of cases jumped to 590 on Thursday, up from 456 at the same point on Wednesday.

The latest deaths were of an 89-year-old at Charing Cross Hospital in London and a woman in her sixties at Queen's Hospital in Romford. Both had underlying health conditions.

It comes as Ireland announced the closure of schools and tourist attractions until the end of the month.

Irish premier Leo Varadkar said schools, colleges and childcare facilities will close until March 29 as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, which is now regarded as a global pandemic.

Museums, galleries and other tourist destinations will also close as a result of the action.

Mr Varadkar said: "I know that some of this is coming as a r

In the UK, the PM is holding an emergency Cobra meeting where ministers are expected to agree to move into the "delay" stage of the process.

Moving to delay would mean social distancing measures could be brought in, such as restricting public gatherings and issuing more widespread advice to stay at home.

Downing Street said it was taking a UK-wide approach, indicating that Northern Ireland would not be following the steps taken in Ireland.

"We have been in regular dialogue with Irish counterparts," the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.

"In terms of our own response, we have said that we want it to be a UK-wide response and we have been working with the four chief medical officers and devolved administrations."

Asked about the difference in the approach in Dublin, the spokesman added: "We follow our own advice, they will do the same."

But despite Number 10's suggestion there would be a UK-wide approach, Scotland appeared set to take its own action by cancelling gatherings of more than 500 people.

It comes as the UK's chief medical officers and officials from the General Medical Council and NHS England wrote to doctors saying they may need to work outside their usual area of expertise and in unfamiliar circumstances as they deal with a "very abnormal emergency situation" in the peak of an epidemic.

The letter said GP practices, hospitals, trusts and health boards should support doctors as "clinicians may need to depart, possibly significantly, from established procedure in order to care for patients in the highly challenging but time-bound circumstances of the peak of an epidemic".

The expected shift in UK policy comes as Donald Trump dramatically escalated the US response to the coronavirus pandemic, slapping a travel ban on continental Europe.

The suspension of travel between the United States and Europe, excluding the UK and Ireland, will last for 30 days starting on Friday and has been widely criticised.

Mr Trump blamed the European Union for not acting quickly enough to address the outbreak of the virus and saying US clusters were "seeded" by European travellers.

But Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, said the science does not support such a ban.

He said: "Introducing an international travel ban at a time when the US is now one of the countries with the most rapidly accelerating internal transmission rates will do little if anything to reduce the burden of infection within the US."

Thursday's Cobra meeting comes after eight people with Covid-19 were confirmed to have died in the UK, while the total number of positive cases rose to 460.

A Cabinet minister, who has not been named, was self-isolating while awaiting a test result after coming into contact with health minister Nadine Dorries.

Ms Dorries is self-isolating at home after being diagnosed with the illness.

A source confirmed fellow health minister Edward Argar is also self-isolating at home "as a precaution" after having lunch with Ms Dorries on Thursday, the day she started to feel unwell.

In other developments:

– Princess Cruises will keep its 18 cruise ships in dock for the next two months, it said, as the company deals with the global spread of coronavirus

– The annual St Patrick's reception at the White House was cancelled, although Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was still expected to hold talks with Mr Trump

– The FTSE 100 index of leading London-listed companies fell more than 5% in early trading following the World Health Organisation's declaration of a pandemic

– Hollywood star Tom Hanks announced he and wife Rita Wilson have been diagnosed with coronavirus

– Barchester Care Homes, which runs more than 200 care homes in the UK and has more than 11,000 residents, sent a letter to residents, patients and visitors saying it was stopping family members and friends making routine visits to its homes.

It later said it meant visits should be "minimised".

– Twitter has informed all staff globally they must work from home as the social media platform heightened its response to the coronavirus outbreak

– A paramedic with the East of England Ambulance Service has tested positive for coronavirus.

– Disney has cancelled the red carpet for the European premiere of the live action version of Mulan "in an abundance of caution" over the outbreak of coronavirus.

Meanwhile, data published on Thursday suggests the NHS 111 system is coming under increasing pressure.

There were 1.6 million calls to NHS 111 in England in February, an average of 56,000 a day.

This is up from 1.4 million calls in February 2019, which was an average of 50,000 a day.

Only 70% of calls were answered within 60 seconds, the lowest for any calendar month on record, and down from 74% in February 2019.

The proportion of calls abandoned after waiting longer than 30 seconds was 8%, up from 5% in February 2019.

eal shock and it is going to involve big changes in the way we live our lives.

"I know that I am asking people to make enormous sacrifices. We're doing it for each other."

The total number of Covid-19 cases in the Republic stands at 43 and there has been one death.

In contrast, UK cases stand at 460 and there have been eight deaths in British hospitals.