Large gatherings could be banned, cities put on lockdown and operations cancelled if coronavirus continues to spread in the UK, it has been warned.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Sky News he could not rule out banning big events where thousands of people would gather, if the situation gets worse.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the UK is now 36, including one each in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland - after a sudden jump on Sunday.

He later said that despite a "huge economic and social downside" closing down cities could not be taken "off the table at this stage because you have to make sure you have all the tools available if that is what is necessary".

Cautioning against panic, Mr Hancock told Sky News' Sophy Ridge On Sunday show: "At this stage people should go about their ordinary business."


However, emergency planning is under way in case the number of virus cases in the UK rises significantly or if the virus is found to be spreading here, rather than just being brought in from abroad.

Boris Johnson, who will chair his first COBRA meeting tomorrow, has said the virus is likely to "spread a bit more" in the UK.

Speaking at a visit to a health centre in north London, he said the government will be "setting out the various measure, as the disease progresses, if it progresses in the way we think it may".

Mr Hancock said hospitals will face a "very, very significant challenge" should the number of cases rapidly accelerate.

He stressed the government has a "clear strategy" for containing the virus, as well as plans to delay and mitigate a widespread outbreak, and said the government is maintaining a "balancing act" between implementing measures in the face of the virus, while trying to limit the disruption it causes.

Global stock markets - including the FTSE 100 - have this week suffered their worst falls since the 2008 financial crisis on fears of a rapid spread.

Doctor explains how to help stop COVID-19 spreading

Cemeteries and crematoriums are also reported to be drawing up plans to deal with a rise in bodies, with families possibly being allowed to hold funerals in their homes, schools, pubs or hotels if churches and chapels become overwhelmed.

"I want to minimise the risk to the public but we also want to minimise the social and economic disruption that will inevitably be caused - and we've already seen it this week - by a virus like this."

The health secretary didn't rule out the UK taking similar action to France, where all indoor gatherings of more than 5,000 people have been banned.

Speaking to the BBC later, Mr Hancock also said isolating entire cities - as China did with Wuhan where the coronavirus outbreak began - was not "off the table at this stage because you have to make sure you have all the tools available if that is what is necessary".

Mr Hancock said the "best thing people can do" at the moment is to wash their hands with hot water and soap for at least 20 seconds, especially at airports.

He recommended Britons sing "Happy Birthday" while they wash their hands, to make sure they are doing so for long enough.

In full: Sophy Ridge On Sunday

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chairman of the British Medical Association, agreed that seeking to contain the virus at this stage was "the right procedure" due to the low numbers of patients in the UK.

But he warned of the impact on the NHS should the number of coronavirus cases increase significantly.

"If we were to have an epidemic in this country then we would need to move beyond the containment phase and actually mitigating and managing that crisis," he told Sky News.

"That could involve, for example, having to reduce or cancel planned care in hospitals for non-emergency operations so you prioritise the availability of care for critical ill patients."

Dr Nagpaul described the NHS as being "already under severe pressure and strain" prior to the coronavirus outbreak.

"We've been saying for a long time... that we haven't an NHS that has sufficient numbers of bed and staff compared to many other European countries," he said.

Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell called for "more direct" political leadership from Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the government over the coronavirus outbreak, as he warned of the pressures on the NHS where some departments are already running at 80% capacity.

"We've lost 17,000 hospital beds in the NHS as a result of austerity cuts, that's a worry," he said.

"We are suffering from 10 years of austerity but I'm sure the clinicians, the NHS staff will rise to the challenge - they always do.

"But we're putting them under a lot of pressure because we've taken such capacity out of the NHS because of the cuts."

The UK has ploughed £40m into finding a vaccine for coronavirus, but Mr Hancock admitted this could yet be "many months off".

Scientists are "more optimistic" about the development of treatments for COVID-19, the disease that develops from coronavirus, that "make the virus less of a problem if you've got it", he added.

The health secretary revealed there were plans to scale up the number of "high acute critical care beds" to 5,000 "if necessary".