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Coronavirus is likely to return “year on year” and millions of Britons will need to become infected to control the impact of the disease, the government’s chief scientific advisor has said.

Sir Patrick Vallance told Sky News around 60% of the UK population would need to contract the deadly COVID-19 in order for society to develop “herd immunity” from future outbreaks.

It comes as Boris Johnson warned up to 10,000 people in the UK could be infected , and warned families that many more would face the early deaths of loved ones.

Sir Patrick also warned the UK was currently on a trajectory that was about four weeks behind Italy, which has become the epicentre of Europe’s outbreak.

Empty London during Coronavirus - In pictures 36 show all Empty London during Coronavirus - In pictures 1/36 Tube stations were also devoid of traffic Jeremy Selwyn 2/36 An empty Piccadilly Circus on a quiet night in London PA 3/36 King's Cross railway station PA 4/36 An unusually quiet M25 motorway PA 5/36 Trafalgar Square Getty Images 6/36 Deserted check-in desks at Terminal Five of London's Heathrow Airport PA 7/36 Empty pitches are seen on Hackney Marshes Reuters 8/36 A sparsely-filled carriage on an Underground train in west London PA 9/36 A person stands on the steps below the statue of Eros, in front of the signs in an empty Piccadilly Circus, London PA 10/36 Empty car parking spaces are shown at level -3 at Westfield shopping centre Reuters 11/36 A woman in a protective face mask stands outside of St. Paul's Cathedral Reuters 12/36 The Euston Road entrance to King's Cross railway station PA 13/36 Trafalgar Square, usually packed, was empty Jeremy Selwyn 14/36 A commuter makes his way through Waterloo station at rush hour, Reuters 15/36 A much less busy Oxford Circus in London PA 16/36 Charing Cross station looked to have more trains than people for once Jeremy Selwyn 17/36 Nelson stood alone in the capital's heart Jeremy Selwyn 18/36 Restaurant seats stand empty in Covent Garden Reuters 19/36 Platforms for the Bakerloo Line at Charing Cross were desolate Jeremy Selwyn 20/36 West-end theatres stand on a sparsley populated street in London Reuters 21/36 Jeremy Selwyn 22/36 Jeremy Selwyn 23/36 The Euston underpass in London's Congestion Charge zone Jeremy Selwyn 24/36 A quiet Regent Street Getty Images 25/36 Tottenham Court Road looked sparse Jeremy Selwyn 26/36 A man walks through a sparsely populated arcade in Covent Garden Reuters 27/36 Buses that would usually have standing room only were full of empty seats Jeremy Selwyn 28/36 Some commuters were still heading to work Jeremy Selwyn 29/36 A sparsely populated Regents Street is seen in London Reuters 30/36 Dawn breaks over London Jeremy Selwyn 31/36 Paddington was also barren PA 32/36 Jeremy Selwyn 33/36 Ticket halls were sparse Jeremy Selwyn 34/36 Jeremy Selwyn 35/36 Jeremy Selwyn 36/36 A much less busy Oxford Street in London PA 1/36 Tube stations were also devoid of traffic Jeremy Selwyn 2/36 An empty Piccadilly Circus on a quiet night in London PA 3/36 King's Cross railway station PA 4/36 An unusually quiet M25 motorway PA 5/36 Trafalgar Square Getty Images 6/36 Deserted check-in desks at Terminal Five of London's Heathrow Airport PA 7/36 Empty pitches are seen on Hackney Marshes Reuters 8/36 A sparsely-filled carriage on an Underground train in west London PA 9/36 A person stands on the steps below the statue of Eros, in front of the signs in an empty Piccadilly Circus, London PA 10/36 Empty car parking spaces are shown at level -3 at Westfield shopping centre Reuters 11/36 A woman in a protective face mask stands outside of St. Paul's Cathedral Reuters 12/36 The Euston Road entrance to King's Cross railway station PA 13/36 Trafalgar Square, usually packed, was empty Jeremy Selwyn 14/36 A commuter makes his way through Waterloo station at rush hour, Reuters 15/36 A much less busy Oxford Circus in London PA 16/36 Charing Cross station looked to have more trains than people for once Jeremy Selwyn 17/36 Nelson stood alone in the capital's heart Jeremy Selwyn 18/36 Restaurant seats stand empty in Covent Garden Reuters 19/36 Platforms for the Bakerloo Line at Charing Cross were desolate Jeremy Selwyn 20/36 West-end theatres stand on a sparsley populated street in London Reuters 21/36 Jeremy Selwyn 22/36 Jeremy Selwyn 23/36 The Euston underpass in London's Congestion Charge zone Jeremy Selwyn 24/36 A quiet Regent Street Getty Images 25/36 Tottenham Court Road looked sparse Jeremy Selwyn 26/36 A man walks through a sparsely populated arcade in Covent Garden Reuters 27/36 Buses that would usually have standing room only were full of empty seats Jeremy Selwyn 28/36 Some commuters were still heading to work Jeremy Selwyn 29/36 A sparsely populated Regents Street is seen in London Reuters 30/36 Dawn breaks over London Jeremy Selwyn 31/36 Paddington was also barren PA 32/36 Jeremy Selwyn 33/36 Ticket halls were sparse Jeremy Selwyn 34/36 Jeremy Selwyn 35/36 Jeremy Selwyn 36/36 A much less busy Oxford Street in London PA

"We think this virus is likely to be one that comes year on year, becomes like a seasonal virus," he told Sky News.

"Communities will become immune to it and that's going to be an important part of controlling this longer term.

"About 60% is the sort of figure you need to get herd immunity."

Sir Patrick later told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the Government’s approach is also about flattening the “broader peak” of the epidemic.

“What we don’t want is everybody to end up getting it in a short period of time so we swamp and overwhelm NHS services – that’s the flattening of the peak,” he said.

“You can’t stop it, so you should end up with a broader peak during which time you’d anticipate that more people would get immunity to this. That in itself becomes a protective part of this process.”

Asked why the UK has delayed shutting down schools, Sir Patrick said a closure now would see educational establishments shut down for “many months”.

He said it is not yet clear if any children have transmitted the illness and that most experience only mild Covid-19 symptoms.

He added: “Children, of course, aren’t going to separate for long periods, they are going to go and do other things together.

“And they may go and stay with grandma, one of those in the most vulnerable group.”

He told LBC radio that the pandemic would “go on for months” rather than weeks.

“We need to make sure we do the right thing at the right stage to have the biggest impact," he said.

“And the measures that were announced yesterday, which were that anybody with mild symptoms, which are a fever, a raised temperature or a cough, should stay at home. That’s not a trivial change.

“That is going to have a big impact of many people staying at home for a week.

“It is one of the things that can have the biggest impact in terms of reducing the transmissibility and ability of the virus to spread quickly across the population.”

Coronavirus hits tourist sites in Asia and Oceania - In pictures 14 show all Coronavirus hits tourist sites in Asia and Oceania - In pictures 1/14 Click through the gallery to see the decline in tourists at some of the world's most popular tourist destinations ... Getty 2/14 Tiananmen Gate in Beijing, China Dates: September 20, 2019 (top) and March 6, 2020 (below). AFP via Getty Images 3/14 Sensō-ji​ Temple in Tokyo's Asakusa district, Japan Dates: April 16, 2019 (top) and March 9, 2020 (below). AFP via Getty Images 4/14 Jakarta History Museum, Indonesia Dates: August 18, 2018 (top) and on March 7, 2020 (below). AFP via Getty Images 5/14 Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, South Korea Dates: May 3, 2017 (top) and March 6, 2020 (below). AFP via Getty Images 6/14 The Old Quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam Dates: November 24, 2015 (top) and March 7, 2020 (below). AFP via Getty Images 7/14 Victoria Peak, Hong Kong Dates: December 26, 2015 (top) and March 7, 2020 (below). AFP via Getty Images 8/14 The Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand Dates: January 29, 2020 (top) and March 2, 2020 (below). AFP via Getty Images 9/14 Sydney Opera House, Australia Dates: December 30, 2017 (top) and March 8, 2020 (below). AFP via Getty Images 10/14 Angkor Wat Temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia Dates: March 16, 2019 (top) and March 5, 2020 (below). AFP via Getty Images 11/14 The Huangpu River in Shanghai, China Dates: May 1, 2019 (top) and March 8, 2020 (below). AFP via Getty Images 12/14 Denpasar in Bali, Indonesia Dates: January 26, 2020 (top) and March 8, 2020 (below). AFP via Getty Images 13/14 Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, Thailand Dates: July 9, 2019 (top) and March 6, 2020 (below). AFP via Getty Images 14/14 Merlion Park, Singapore Dates: August 13, 2019 (top) and March 6, 2020 (below). AFP via Getty Images 1/14 Click through the gallery to see the decline in tourists at some of the world's most popular tourist destinations ... Getty 2/14 Tiananmen Gate in Beijing, China Dates: September 20, 2019 (top) and March 6, 2020 (below). AFP via Getty Images 3/14 Sensō-ji​ Temple in Tokyo's Asakusa district, Japan Dates: April 16, 2019 (top) and March 9, 2020 (below). AFP via Getty Images 4/14 Jakarta History Museum, Indonesia Dates: August 18, 2018 (top) and on March 7, 2020 (below). AFP via Getty Images 5/14 Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, South Korea Dates: May 3, 2017 (top) and March 6, 2020 (below). AFP via Getty Images 6/14 The Old Quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam Dates: November 24, 2015 (top) and March 7, 2020 (below). AFP via Getty Images 7/14 Victoria Peak, Hong Kong Dates: December 26, 2015 (top) and March 7, 2020 (below). AFP via Getty Images 8/14 The Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand Dates: January 29, 2020 (top) and March 2, 2020 (below). AFP via Getty Images 9/14 Sydney Opera House, Australia Dates: December 30, 2017 (top) and March 8, 2020 (below). AFP via Getty Images 10/14 Angkor Wat Temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia Dates: March 16, 2019 (top) and March 5, 2020 (below). AFP via Getty Images 11/14 The Huangpu River in Shanghai, China Dates: May 1, 2019 (top) and March 8, 2020 (below). AFP via Getty Images 12/14 Denpasar in Bali, Indonesia Dates: January 26, 2020 (top) and March 8, 2020 (below). AFP via Getty Images 13/14 Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, Thailand Dates: July 9, 2019 (top) and March 6, 2020 (below). AFP via Getty Images 14/14 Merlion Park, Singapore Dates: August 13, 2019 (top) and March 6, 2020 (below). AFP via Getty Images

His comments come after the Prime Minister’s response to the outbreak was criticised for not going far enough.

Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt questioned the Government’s decision not to cancel large gatherings.

Asked on BBC Newsnight what he thought about the decision not to cancel large gatherings, Mr Hunt, chair of the House of Commons Health select committee, said: “I think it is surprising and concerning that we’re not doing any of it at all when we have just four weeks before we get to the stage that Italy is at.

“You would have thought that every single thing we do in that four weeks would be designed to slow the spread of people catching the virus.”

He added that he is “personally surprised that we’re still allowing external visits to care homes”.

When asked about the lock-down measures deployed by Italy, Sir Patrick said that it was “impossible” for a country to attempt to self-isolate its entire population.

“It is impossible, I think," he said. "And also, when you’ve got it inside the country, it would be difficult to stop that spread.”

It comes as France became one of the latest European countries to close all schools, universities and nurseries, while in the US, all major sport has been suspended and Broadway performances have been stopped for a month.

On Thursday, Ireland announced the closure of all schools and childcare facilities and other public spaces such as museums, while Scotland banned gatherings of more than 500 people.

Mr Johnson told reporters at a press conference on Thursday: “We’ve all got to be clear: this is the worst public health crisis for a generation.

“It is going to spread further and I must level with you, I must level with the British public: many more families are going to lose loved ones before their time.”

He said that from now on, people with even mild coronavirus symptoms, including a continuous cough or high temperature, must stay at home for at least seven days.

School trips abroad should be stopped, people over 70 with serious medical conditions are being told not to go on cruises, and officials warned the advice is likely to develop so that entire households could be told to self-isolate.

The Government said it would not move to close schools yet as the evidence for its effectiveness is lacking, though this will be kept under review.

It is also considering banning large events, mostly due to the burden such events place on public services.