Mass gathering bans not ruled out to stop coronavirus spread

Earlier a patient in Essex became the second person in the UK to test positive for coronavirus without having recently travelled abroad, bringing the total of UK infections to 35.

The case will fuel worries the virus is circulating undetected in parts of the UK, making it harder for authorities to contain the spread of the infection throughout the country.

It comes as Health Secretary Matt Hancock said nothing was being ruled out, including putting cities and towns in lockdown like in China and instituting a ban on mass gatherings such as attending football matches and concerts.

READ MORE: Scotland registers first confirmed coronavirus case

He admitted that scientists have told him that it's "inevitable" that the crisis will sweep across the world and become "endemic" here too.

In France the Government has banned gatherings of more than 5,000 people to try and stop the spread.

Three of the new cases were close contacts of a known case which was transmitted in the UK, chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty has said.

Out of the remaining eight cases, six had recently returned from Italy and two had been to Iran.

All of eight patients, from London, West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Hertfordshire or Gloucestershire, are now being investigated and their close contacts traced.

A vaccine is still months away from being developed.

In total 698 tests had been carried out by Sunday, up from 630 on Saturday, the Scottish Government said.

A "drive through" testing centre for coronavirus opened in Edinburgh on Saturday amid warnings a positive case in Scotland is "inevitable".

READ MORE: WHO chief says elderly should avoid crowds as global coronavirus death toll nears 3000

Meanwhile the Scottish Government said that tests for Covid-19 are being increased to include a sample of people with flu-like symptoms who have not travelled to an affected area as a "precautionary step".

And the UK government confirmed that “broader measures” will be considered to keep the public safe and ensure the NHS can handle the added strain.

The plans include a Dad’s Army-style emergency registration of health professionals who have retired, as well as relaxing rules around school class sizes in case teachers are off ill or forced to self-isolate.

Other proposals include introducing emergency indemnity coverage for healthcare workers to allow them to diagnose or care for those who contract the deadly illness.

Ministers are also considering whether to recommend more employees work from home and discourage “unnecessary travel”.

Mr Hancock confirmed an emergency "battle plan", drawn up for the "worst case scenario", included banning big events, closing schools and dissuading people from using public transport.

Despite a 'huge economic and social downside', following China's lead and isolating UK cities if the situation worsens remains on the table.

"We've got a clear strategy for dealing with coronavirus - a very, very significant challenge. We're also planning in case this gets worse, much worse," he said.

"At this stage people should go about their ordinary business."

He said a paper suggesting that half a million people in the UK could die in the event of a flu pandemic was a "worst-case scenario".

Prof Mark Woolhouse, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh said it was sensible to consider 'social distancing measures' which may turn out to be necessary but they had to be carefully planned.

“The UK is considering implementing social distancing measures such as school closures, restrictions on mass gatherings and working from home. Such interventions are intended to slow down the spread of Covid-19.

"It is extremely important that there is a well thought out exit strategy. We need to decide not only the circumstances that make it appropriate to introduce a given social distancing measure but also the circumstances that would make it appropriate to remove it.”

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chairman of the British Medical Association, said containment seemed "the right procedure" given the low numbers of patients to have contracted coronavirus in the UK but warned that preparations would have to be stepped up if the situation got worse.

Meanwhile the country’s leading microbiologist has warned that Glasgow’s United Nations COP26 climate change conference could be cancelled because of the crisis.

Professor Hugh Pennington, emeritus professor at Aberdeen University said it would be “daft” to proceed with the high-profile summit if the Covid-19 virus was still active in the summer.

Up to 90,000 delegates and 200 world leaders are due to travel to Glasgow for 10 days of talks on how to save the planet later this year.

However, major events are now being cancelled worldwide in a bid to cut down on human-to-human contact.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, will chair a meeting of the government's Cobra emergency committee today (Monday) and Labour has demanded that Mr Hancock explain to MPs today how the Government's emergency powers for dealing with a UK coronavirus outbreak would work.