UK will suffer 'many thousands' of coronavirus infections, deputy chief medical officer warns

Thousands of people in the UK will suffer from coronavirus infection, according to the deputy chief medical officer.

Dr Jenny Harries said the situation in other countries looked certain to be the outcome here in the UK.

"We will see thousands [of cases], I am sure, in due course," she told Sky News this morning. "We will start moving that way, probably, over the next week."

She added: "We will see many thousands of people infected by coronavirus. That's what we're seeing in other countries.

"The important thing for us is to make sure that we manage those infections and make sure that those individuals who are most affected, so our elderly people, particularly those with chronic underlying conditions, get into hospital and get treatment and we support other people in the home environment."

She said some "much more specific measures" will be released over the next week. This advice will be aimed at older people, she added.

"We're still looking at the numbers and which groups of individuals are most likely to need the most support," she said.

An "ultra vulnerable group" could also be identified.

Dr Harries said that the timing of an intervention is essential and the Government is assessing the most efficient point to do so.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, commenting on the number of new cases compared to China in the past 24 hours, she said: “China is in a very different position. They are at the end of their current epidemic peak and we will be shortly at the start of ours.

“If you have a new disease, the normal thing is, it will take off gradually. It will rise very rapidly at one point and come back down again when it effectively runs out of people in the population to infect.”

It comes as more than 300 people have been infected with the virus in the UK, while five people who have been struck with it have died .

While it has been suggested Britons with “minor” cold, flu or fever symptoms could soon to be asked to stay at home in self-isolation in a bid to tackle the coronavirus outbreak.

Elsewhere, new Government advice has warned against all but essential travel to Italy, with the country placed on lockdown as it deals with a mass outbreak.