Boris Johnson is set to escalate the country's coronavirus response to the next phase, which will see more people encouraged to stay at home.

The prime minister will chair an emergency COBRA meeting on Thursday where he is expected to declare that the UK will switch from trying to contain COVID-19 to delaying its spread.

Coronavirus: What you need to know

This comes the day after the World Health Organisation designated COVID-19 a pandemic.

Moving to the delay phase will mean social distancing measures could be brought in.

People with even the slightest symptoms may be asked to remain at home.


More guidance for over-65s and the vulnerable is expected soon as part of the change to the "delay" phase.

Draconian measures such as mass school closures, banning public gatherings and mass testing of the public are not set to be deployed at this stage, although the government has said they remain an option.

The UK is not copying the drastic action in countries such as Italy, where the entire population has been quarantined and football matches played behind closed doors.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has told MPs there are "no plans for a mass closure of schools", although individual schools might be told to close.

Speaking in the Commons on Wednesday night, he said: "There are significant downsides [to closing schools] especially because of the knock-on consequences it has on the number of staff available for critical public services, including the NHS and social care."

Until now, the government has been focused on trying to stop coronavirus from being transmitted inside the country.

On Monday, Mr Johnson suggested an escalation was likely - admitting the containment strategy was "extremely unlikely to work on its own".

He went on to say that "extensive preparations" were under way to move to the "delay" phase to slow the virus' spread.

Four phases of UK's response plan:

Containment - Trying to catch cases early and trace all contacts to avoid the spread of the disease

- Trying to catch cases early and trace all contacts to avoid the spread of the disease Delay - Using "social distancing" tactics such as closing schools and postponing or cancelling large-scale gatherings to delay the spread of the virus while a vaccine is not available

- Using "social distancing" tactics such as closing schools and postponing or cancelling large-scale gatherings to delay the spread of the virus while a vaccine is not available Research - Learning more about how the virus spreads and how those who are infected can be treated most effectively

- Learning more about how the virus spreads and how those who are infected can be treated most effectively Mitigate - Public services including police and NHS scaled back to a minimum to ensure vulnerable people are protected and health workers are supported in surge of demand

Now, Mr Johnson is expected to confirm Britain has entered that second stage, without following every suggestion contained in that action plan.

The prime minister is likely to come under pressure to explain why he does not take all the measures in the action plan available during the "delay" phase.

The action plan published last week says of the delay phase: "Action that would be considered could include population distancing strategies, (such as school closures, encouraging greater home working, reducing the number of large scale gatherings) to slow the spread of hte disease throughout the population, whilst ensuring the country's ability to continue to run as normally as possible.

"The UK governments' education departments' planning assumptions include the possibility of having to close educational settings in order to reduce the spread of infection".

Other key coronavirus developments include:

A UK paramedic has tested positive for the coronavirus

Greece has reported its first death from the illness - a 66-year-old man with underlying health problems

Austria has recorded its first coronavirus fatality after a 69-year-old man died in Vienna

Iran has said there have been 75 more deaths in the country, bringing the total to 429

Poland has reported its first death from the coronavirus, authorities in the country have said

South Africa, where there are 17 cases, has reported its first case of locally transmitted coronavirus

There are now 2,078 cases of the virus in Germany

Slovakia will close all schools for 14 days

Spain's parliament has extended its suspension for 15 days

All schools, universities and nurseries will close for two weeks in Lithuania

The NBA basketball season has been suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic

Spain has suspended all its La Liga football games, according to reports in the country

The Real Madrid football team is in quarantine after a member of its basketball team tested positive for the virus

Norway is considering closing several of its airports, according to airport operator Avinor

The Czech Republic is set to bring in controls on its borders with Germany and Austria

Kenya's athletics authority has barred its athletes from travelling to international events

Mass gatherings of 250 people or more have been banned in California

Kazakhstan has suspended all public events in a bid to stop the spread of the virus

Thailand's health ministry has reported 11 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total to 70

Denmark has shut all schools and universities after a 10-fold rises in cases since Monday

The St Patrick's Day parade in New York City has been cancelled

China's coronavirus adviser has said he expects the global pandemic to be over by June

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom has said he fears some countries are not taking the virus seriously enough

Discussion between ministers and the opposition are also being held about emergency legislation which could be passed next week.

The emergency legislation is likely to give the power to government to relax lots of regulations, including allowing larger class sizes, changes to rules on care homes, allowing retired medical professionals to return to work.

New figures published on Wednesday showed that 460 people now have COVID-19 - a rise of 87 cases in 24 hours.

These "social distancing" tactics are the main tools available try to prevent accelerated transmission when no vaccine is yet available

Meanwhile, Mr Hancock has confirmed parliament will not close, despite health minister Nadine Dorries being diagnosed with COVID-19 and another MP going into self-isolation as a precaution.

The health secretary admitted the House of Commons "may have to function differently" but insisted MPs' ability to create new laws to tackle the outbreak and scrutinise the government was "vital".

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