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The chilling warning from Boris Johnson today is that the worst is yet to come.

And the defiant message we should send back to reassure the self-isolating PM is that Britain can take it.

As an island race we are a resilient nation. We know how to look after ourselves, and each other, when there is no one to fall back on.

We have successfully seen off human ­would-be invaders throughout history.

But now we face an unseen enemy whose very invisibility makes it tougher to repel.

(Image: FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

Most of us will not know for weeks whether we have even been attacked.

And that is why, for the sake of our NHS and those most at risk, it is imperative we follow government advice to stay indoors.

We cannot stop this pernicious little killer. But staying away from others will slow it down and give our hard-pressed medical staff a chance to regroup.

The best we can do is buy them some time. And we are doing our best.

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Most people are self-isolating when they need to and social distancing when it is required. And, of course, there’s a volunteer army of selfless helpers heading towards the 750,000 mark.

As Jeremy Corbyn writes today, we must also not forget the unsung heroes of this crisis who keep the country going – shelf-stackers, posties, truckers, delivery drivers, refuse collectors, utility workers and cleaners.

Danger for our NHS

They put themselves in danger every day going to work so the rest of us can stay safely inside. But when this is over there must be a reckoning.

We need to know that everything that should have been done was done so we are ready next time.

We wish the PM a speedy recovery – but he will have serious questions to face.

Health workers will want to know why they didn’t get the protective equipment they had a right to expect. Brits stranded abroad will want to know why they were left high and dry by the Foreign Office.

Families will want to know why so few ­ventilators were available to save loved ones as the disease headed towards our shores.

And everyone will want to know why a ­lockdown was not ordered sooner and why our nation was not readied earlier.

Tough measures early dampened the outbreak in Singapore. South Korean sample testing revealed three quarters had caught the disease without knowing it.

Had that been replicated here, those who have built up immunity could have returned to frontline duties.

Yet it is only today that there’s proper testing for NHS staff. And it will be some time before ­antibody tests are available to check the rest of us for previous infection.

But those are not questions for today.

Today we must fight for our survival.

But Mr Johnson must come up with answers when we all live in a happier tomorrow.