FILE PHOTO: Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during the weekly question time debate in Parliament, in London, Britain, March 18, 2020, in this screen grab taken from video. Reuters TV via REUTERS

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday that Britain can turn the tide against the coronavirus outbreak within the next 12 weeks and eventually “send it packing”.

“We can turn the tide within the next 12 weeks and I’m absolutely confident that we can send coronavirus packing in this country but only if we take the steps - we all take the steps - that we have outlined,” Johnson said at a news conference.