
Customers at a Costco in south London are now being 'disinfected' at the front door as coronavirus fears continue to grip Britain after a woman in her 70s last night became the first patient to die in the UK.

A second person is feared to have died of the coronavirus in England as officials await test results from a man in his 80s who passed away last night at Milton Keynes Hospital.

Shoppers 'lined up obediently' at the Croydon store's entrance yesterday before being stopped by a staff member to be sprayed with a 'disinfectant-like liquid', the person who filmed the incident told MailOnline. Costco today denied the claims, saying only trolley handles were sprayed – not customers.

As coronavirus fears take hold in the UK now that 163 people her have been diagnosed and the virus is known to be spreading inside the UK, anxious Britons have resorted to wearing gas masks and blankets on public transport in desperate attempts to protect themselves.

Meanwhile, supermarkets up and down the country have again been left bare amid rushes to stockpile household goods such as hand soap, nappies and dried foods like pasta and rice.

Despite the panic surrounding the virus the government has urged people not to bulk buy products, with Health Secretary Matt Hancock vowing that supermarkets would not run out of food and Prime Minister Boris Johnson claiming that it was 'business as usual' after the first confirmed death of a UK patient with the virus.

MILTON KEYNES MAN FEARED TO BE SECOND UK VIRUS DEATH A second person is feared to have died of the coronavirus in England. Officials are awaiting test results from a man in his 80s after he died at Milton Keynes University Hospital last night. He has tested positive once already, MailOnline understands, but the NHS must carry out further testing to confirm the case and rule out a false positive. The final results are expected today. Advertisement

But customers don't seem to be taking much notice of the reassurances and bosses at online supermarket Ocado told customers they would have to place orders early due to a 'higher than usual demand'.

Mr Hancock claimed the Government was 'working with the supermarkets' to make sure that people who are told to self-isolate – who must stay at home for at least two weeks – will be able to get regular food deliveries. The Competition & Markets Authority yesterday warned that firms taking advantage of the panic by hiking prices of could be prosecuted or fined.

It comes after officials revealed yesterday that at least 45 of the UK's coronavirus patients have been sent home and told to stay locked up in their bedrooms for two weeks instead of being kept in hospital.

And people who die from the coronavirus will not have an inquest into their death, MailOnline understands, with it being classed as a natural death as one from the flu would be.

It seemed there was a back log of customers outside the Costco in Croydon as they were given hand sanitiser on entrance

Coronavirus fears have gripped Britons. A man on the central line of the London Underground this morning wore a gas mask

A commuter on the London Underground wears a gas mask on Friday morning as the capital was gripped by coronavirus fears after the UK's first death

An LBC radio producer photographed a passenger on the London Underground 'protecting' themselves from coronavirus by hiding underneath a quilt

Dried pasta has flown off the shelves and was in short supply at this Asda store in Southampton today, Friday

Shelves which normally stock hand gels and soaps are seen stripped bare at Asda in Chandler's Ford, Southampton – companies producing the sanitisers say they are ramping up production because of 'exceptional demand'

Many people have taken to wearing face masks on public transport. One many was pictured wearing his headphones over the mask (left) while another was pictured on the tube this morning wearing the full face covering (right)

Customers queue outside Boots in Salisbury, Wiltshire, this morning, amid reports that supermarkets and shops across the UK are running out of hand sanitiser

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is pictured at a laboratory in Bedford today. He has announced a £46million funding boost to develop coronavirus testing kits

As drama unfolds around the UK, other developments in the coronavirus crisis at home and abroad include:

Two British Airways baggage handlers have tested positive for the coronavirus, the company has confirmed. It said the employees are isolated and recovering at home. Their locations are unknown

Around half of British coronavirus patients are recovering at home after the Government said there was no need for people with mild symptoms to be kept in hospital. 18 people have recovered already;

Prime Minister Boris Johnson today had a phone call update from chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, and a spokesperson said the Government is still in the first phase of its action plan, contrary to what Professor Whitty said yesterday;

Britons who feel ill after returning home from any part of Italy now told to self-isolate for two weeks to stop the spread of coronavirus – an escalation of advice which previously only applied to areas north of Pisa;

More than 100 Britons are stranded on board a cruise ship off the coast of California where medics are testing passengers for coronavirus;

An unnamed Coronation Street actor will return to work after two weeks in isolation which they took as a precaution following a holiday abroad;

More than 1,200 people working in London's Canary Wharf business district were evacuated from the US company S&P Global Platts yesterday after an employee tested positive for the coronavirus;

The UK's FTSE 100 stock index dropped 1.85 per cent this morning following news of the first person dying in the UK;

A 43-year-old British man has been diagnosed with the coronavirus in Bangkok, Thailand, after travelling there from Hong Kong, local authorities have confirmed;

World Health Organization and Chinese scientists published statistics showing men are 65 per cent more likely than women to die from coronavirus;

The Vatican reported its first case of the coronavirus, days after Pope Francis tested negative for the deadly infection which has infected 98,000 people worldwide;

The global death toll from coronavirus could reach 15million and $2.3trillion (£1.77tn) could be wiped off the global economy in the case of a pandemic, said the Australian National University;

Hollywood is taking a hit as the release of the new James Bond film, No Time to Die, has been pushed back, film festivals have been cancelled and filming of a live-action remake of Mulan has been put-on hold;

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics could be held in empty stadiums amid fears large groups of people would trigger an outbreak, according to reports of a meeting between the World Health Organization and sports federation medical officers.

The incident at Costco in Croydon comes amid rising reports of bizarre events around the country as concerns about the coronavirus hit fever pitch now officials admit people are catching the virus within the UK.

A total of 163 people in the UK have now been confirmed to have the coronavirus in the UK – 147 in England, 11 in Scotland, three in Northern Ireland and two in Wales.

At least 45 of them are still infected but recovering at home, while 18 have recovered already, one has died and the remainder are believed to be in hospitals or also at home.

Speaking to the MailOnline, the person who filmed the incident at Costco said it was a 'peculiar situation' and that there had been no clear signs explaining what was happening or why the queue were longer than usual.

‘There were no available trolleys and by time I reached the top of the line I noticed the security guard/sales assistant had a translucent canister and he was spraying everyone as they walked in,' he said.

‘You would show your card and then receive a squirt of whatever was in there and then you would get a tissue’.

He added that there had been a waste paper bin to drop the tissues into and claimed he questioned Costco staff on if these measures had been put in place because of the coronavirus to which they said ‘yes’.

The company said it was 'simply sanitising trolley handles as a precautionary measure'.

But the witness said it was definitely sprayed onto his hands, adding: 'Nobody seemed to question what was happening and everyone was just lining up obediently.

'The liquid was more fluid than hand sanitiser and it felt more water-based, it had a smell of disinfectant.'

He also claimed that customers were rationed to two tissue-based products each and that hand sanitiser and anti-bacterial products were also being rationed.

A man in his 80s with underlying health conditions is feared to have become Britain's second coronavirus death. The unnamed patient is thought to have succumbed to the illness at Milton Keynes University Hospital in Buckinghamshire last night

Customers were lined up outside the Croydon Costco (pictured above) and were given hand sanitiser

WHAT MAKES PEOPLE MORE LIKELY TO DIE OF THE CORONAVIRUS? Men are 65 per cent more likely than women to die from coronavirus, according to statistics. Figures from the World Health Organization and Chinese scientists have revealed that 1.7 per cent of women who catch the virus will die compared to 2.8 per cent of men, even though neither sex is more likely to catch it. More than 100,000 people around the world have now been diagnosed with the virus, which causes a disease called COVID-19, and at least 3,383 have died. Some experts have put the higher risk among men down to higher smoking and drinking rates – both habits weaken the immune system, making people more likely to get ill. Figures from the World Health Organization and Chinese scientists has revealed that 1.7 per cent of woman who catch the virus will die compared to 2.8 per cent of men (pictured, a graphic showing those most likely at risk from the virus) The elderly and infirm have also been found to more at risk of coronavirus, with 10.5 per cent of heart disease patients expected to die if they catch the deadly virus. Death rates among people with diabetes – of which there are four million in the UK and 34m in the US – are expected to be around 7.3 per cent, while six per cent of patients who have high blood pressure might die if infected. Some 5.6 per cent of cancer sufferers infected with the coronavirus would be expected to die along with 6.3 per cent of people with long-term lung diseases. In the US, at least 233 people have now been confirmed to have the coronavirus, and 12 have died from it, while in the UK there has been one death among 163 cases. Those aged 80 years or older are most at risk, with 14.8 per cent of people catching the disease in that age bracket expected to die. Between 60 and 69 years old the death rate is around 3.6 per cent, while it is more like 1.3 per cent for those aged 50 to 59. For people in their 40s this drops to 0.4 per cent, and it's just 0.2 per cent for those in their 30s. Children do not seem to catch the virus very often, according to data from China, and there are no high-profile reports of children dying. Advertisement

Demand for hand sanitiser is skyrocketing – manufacturer PZ Cussons, which makes the Carex brand, said it had 'significantly increased' its production rate for hand gel and soaps because of 'exceptional demand', The Grocer reported.

And DCS Group, which is based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, said it was doubling its production of hand gels and was no churning them out 24 hours a day 'to meet demand'.

Customers in Marks & Spencer and some Boots stores are now being limited to the amount of hand sanitiser they are able to purchase – some to two bottles per person.

Despite stores panicking about customers spreading the virus in stores, the British Retail Consortium said there is unlikely to be a risk to customers shopping and browsing in stores – and definitely not from products imported from China.

'Current estimates suggest it can live up to 24-30 hours outside the body,' the BRC said.

'[This is] much less than the sea freight and air freight times (weeks) from China. In addition, the virus is temperature sensitive and would not tolerate the sub-zero low temperatures typically found in the cargo hold of an aeroplane.'

The organisation said that sales of hand sanitisers and other similar products had gone up and that businesses 'make sensible precautions' to stop the spread of the disease.

As the virus is transferred by water droplets transmission requires close proximity of around one to two metres.

But the concern is not people being in close proximity but the fact that individuals could smear the virus from their hands to their faces.

This could occur in stores if someone touches a product that has also been touched by a carrier of the virus - and then touches their face of mouth.

Chief medical officer for the Government, Professor Chris Whitty, yesterday said people can catch the illness by touching contaminated surfaces and then touching their face.

And the coronavirus may stay contagious on hard metal or plastic surfaces like door handles or rails on buses or trains for as long as three days, he added.

Some scientists have even suggested the virus may be more likely to spread on the hands than it is through the air.

Speaking at a meeting with Government ministers yesterday, Professor Whitty said the virus would be 'largely gone by 48 hours and almost completely gone by 72 hours on a hard surface'.

Anyone who touches something a patient has contaminated is at risk of catching the virus if they then touch their face, he said – the virus can enter the body through the eyes, nose and mouth, but not through the skin.

But, officials have made clear, the risk of catching the virus from people you pass in the street is low and that wearing masks in public will likely not protect anyone from the coronavirus.

Scotland's chief medical officer, Dr Catherine Calderwood, added in a comment: 'The risk is very low in situations where someone may have passed a patient on the street or in a shop.'

Members of the public, however, have still been using strange methods to try and protect themselves from the fast-spreading illness.

Commuters on trains in London have been seen wearing all manner of headgear to protect their mouths, noses and eyes – military gas masks, a blanket, a rain cover for a child's buggy, a lunchbox and carrier bags have all been pictured.

Professor Whitty said the risk of touching a contaminated surface declines as time passes, but there could still be a danger for days after an infected patient left their mark. Pictured, a Government ad campaign to promote hand hygiene

Pedestrians wear face masks as they walk through Piccadilly Circus on Thursday- normally a bustling tourist hotspot - in central London

CORONAVIRUS PANIC-BUYERS RIPPED OFF TO THE TUNE OF £800,000 Fraudsters are cashing in on the coronavirus crisis, with victims' losses totalling more than £800,000 in a month. One person told police they had lost more than £15,000 after buying protective face masks which were never delivered. The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau has already identified 21 reports of fraud where coronavirus was mentioned since February. Police are warning numbers of scams are set to rise as the deadly virus spreads across the world. The figure includes ten scams where victims tried to buy protective masks from fraudsters. Other reports involved coronavirus-themed phishing emails designed to trick people into opening malicious attachments or revealing sensitive information. A common tactic used by scammers is to send messages purporting to be from research groups linked with the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO). They claim to be able to provide a list of people infected with Covid-19, which links to a malicious website or ask the victim to make a payment in Bitcoin. The City of London Police advised: 'Don't click on the links or attachments in suspicious emails and never respond to unsolicited messages and calls that ask for your personal or financial details.' Source: Press Association Advertisement

Britons have been panic buying with some even setting up 'isolation' rooms at home complete with camping toilets now the UK has 19 confirmed cases and one British citizen has died in Japan.

MailOnline readers sent in pictures their stockpiled provisions, which includes staples such as bottled water, bin liners, Calpol and pet food - or more eclectic essentials such as Pot Noodles, exfoliating face wash and litres of beer and wine.

David Wharton filled his boot with 15kg of penne, 48 bags of crisps, 16 tins of beans and litres of Dettol said: 'Better to be safe than sorry, if it all blows over won't need to go shopping for weeks'.

Mel Cross wrote: 'I've been stockpiling for weeks now. Had a feeling the situation would really get bad. Loads of toilet rolls, hand sanitiser, soaps, disinfectant, paracetamol. Been filling my cellar'.

But politicians are urging people to stop making rash purchases and to calm down and carry on with normal life.

Speaking on BBC's Question Time, Matt Hancock said: 'The Government has supplies of the key things that are needed, and, within the food supply, we are absolutely confident that there won't be a problem there.

'And, crucially, we are working to makes sure that if people are self isolating, they will be able to get the food and supplies that they need.'

He said there was 'absolutely no need' for individual people 'to go round buying more than they need'.

He added: 'The very, very strong advice from the scientists, from the medics, is that people should not go buying more than they need.'

His comments came after Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday said 'yes' he could guarantee that Britons would not run out of food in the event of a full-blown coronavirus outbreak.

Mr Johnson said a 'range of options' were being considered for how to respond and stressed that the government was being guided by leading scientists on what is needed to limit the impact of a major outbreak.

The PM insisted that 'draconian' measures such as banning large gatherings and telling elderly people to batten down the hatches at home 'wouldn't work as well as people think'.

Cereal has proven to be an in-demand staple among people doing big shops in case a full-blown crisis breaks out in the UK

Out of stock signs are posted on shelves formerly stacked with pasta and hand gels at Asda. Dried foods are being stockpiled and companies making hand soaps said they have had to 'significantly' increase production to cope with demand

Toilet roll stocks could not be replaced fast enough at Asda in Southampton. Supermarkets only keep a few days' worth of the essential in store because it is so large

A Sainsbury's store in Tooting, south London, is seen without any toilet paper on the shelves today, Friday

Coronavirus patients are told to recover at HOME: People who have just mild symptoms will not be hospitalised Coronavirus patients are no longer all being admitted to hospital, British health officials have confirmed. Anyone confirmed to have the virus who is not seriously unwell or at risk of becoming more dangerously infected can recover at home. At least 45 people out of the 163 confirmed in the UK have already been instructed to stay in their own houses and wait for their illness to blow over. Until the new rule was drafted – it is not clear when it began – all confirmed patients had to be taken to a specialist hospital unit in one of five locations around the country, some hundreds of miles from their hometowns. An extra 29 cases of the coronavirus have been diagnosed in the UK today, bringing the total to 163 – 147 in England, 11 in Scotland, three in Northern Ireland and two in Wales. Officials said it was 'perfectly reasonable' for people to recover at home because COVID-19 is a 'mild illness'. Chief medical officer for the government, Professor Chris Whitty, said that most people with minor cases of the virus will no longer be hospitalised. Instead they will be asked to stay at home, where they pose less of a risk to other people. Advertisement

Retail experts yesterday claimed that supermarkets would be preparing for riots as part of emergency plans to feed the nation as panic buying Brits started to strip shelves faster than they could be refilled this week.

Former Tesco supply chain director Bruno Monteyne said a major outbreak of the virus would result in 'panic buying, empty shelves and food riots' but that at this stage retailers would revert to 'feed the nation' status to avoid anyone going hungry.

Mr Monteyne, who now works for investment firm Alliance Bernstein, said the virus reaching pandemic status would lead to thousands of supermarket delivery drivers going off work, reducing the rate at which stores can be replenished.

Warehouses typically only hold one to two weeks of stock for non-refrigerated food products and only a few days for perishable goods and bulky items like toilet paper, so panic buying would rapidly lead to shortages.

At this point the industry's crisis-management mode would kick in, with supermarkets working together to ensure there is enough food to go round, Mr Monteyne said in a report.

The continuing panic surrounding the virus comes as the UK yesterday confirmed its first coronavirus death, believed to be in a woman in her 70s with underlying health conditions.

The patient tested positive for the killer infection at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading on Wednesday before succumbing to the illness yesterday

In a statement, the NHS trust which runs the hospital said: 'Sadly, we can confirm that an older patient with underlying health conditions has died.

'The patient has previously been in and out of hospital for non-coronavirus reasons, but on this occasion was admitted and last night [Wednesday] tested positive for coronavirus.

'The family has been informed and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.'

The UK's first coronavirus death was an 'older patient who had underlying health conditions' who was being treated at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading (pictured)

DEVON CHURCH CLOSED AFTER PARISHIONER TESTS POSITIVE A church in Devon has been closed after a parishioner was diagnosed with coronavirus, the Church of England has confirmed. The churchgoer tested positive after attending a Holy Communion service at St Mary's Church in the town of Churston Ferrers on Sunday. On Friday, the church was temporarily closed for a deep clean while members of the congregation have been told to contact Public Health England for advice. A pupil at a school in the same town has been diagnosed with the virus, leading to the Churston Ferrers Grammar School being closed. It is not known whether the cases are linked. The Church of England said it was offering 'full support' to those involved. The spokeswoman said the Reverend Professor Gina Radford, a vicar in South Devon who was deputy chief medical officer for England until 2019, had been advising the Church of England on its coronavirus guidance. Rev Radford said: 'We, as a church, are here to support people both spiritually and practically, to listen to concerns if they are worried and to affirm and confirm the official health guidance.' The announcement followed a pupil from the nearby Churston Ferrers grammar school tested positive for the virus on Monday. Advertisement

Prime Minister Boris Johnson offered his sympathies to the patient's family yesterday, saying: 'Our sympathies are very much with the victim and their family.'

England's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said he was 'very sorry' to report the news and offered his 'sincere condolences' to the family.

Health chiefs fear the patient, who had previously 'been in and out of hospital', caught the virus in the UK because they had not recently travelled abroad – eight of the 29 cases confirmed today were patients who got infected on British soil. Only 51 patients were known to have the infection two days ago.

Staff members across London's financial district were sent home yesterday as the coronavirus continues to rock the industry with one company banning its workers from using the tube to get into the office.

Over 1,200 staff members at US group S&P Global Platts were sent home yesterday afternoon after it was discovered a visitor to the Canary Wharf site had been diagnosed with Covid-19.

It comes as HSBC also told 100 staff members not to come in after one of its workers tested positively for the disease.

With many finance workers based in Canary Wharf, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has now said that all companies need to have contingency plans in place.

In a company statement an S&P Platts spokesperson said: 'Platts has a robust business continuity plan to ensure there are no disruptions to our MOC (market-on-close) price assessment process and the essential commodity market intelligence our customers rely on across news and analytics'.

Employees in Canary Wharf were told yesterday to work from home until further notice.

A cybersecurity expert as warned that people going into self-isolation or working at home are more likely to have their computers hacked because their home internet security is likely worse than that in their office.

Dr Asma Adnane, a computer science lecturer at Loughborough University, said remotely accessing sensitive business data causes additional cybersecurity risks, and she encouraged anyone planning on working from home to speak to their IT department first.

She advises the use of secure connections such as a Virtual Private Network (VPN), which effectively encrypts data travelling between a user's computer and the work network.

'Working from home might be convenient and safer for you, but this might not be safer for the services and the data you are accessing remotely, especially if you are handling sensitive or personal data,' she said.

'There are many cybersecurity implications while working from home, you are basically connected to internet via an open and maybe non-secured networks - home wifi or any public wifi - so all services and files you are accessing become at high risk of attack.

'Cybersecurity threats are generally higher as you are not connected via the secured workplace networks, which have adequate security measures that you do not see such as web filtering, firewall and encryption of data.

'Indeed, if you access sensitive data through unsafe networks, your connections could be intercepted, and the data compromised.'

'People ARE panic buying': Question Time audience member challenges Matt Hancock over government's ability to keep shelves stocked

Matt Hancock last night faced demands to say how the government plans to stop coronavirus panic buying - as members of the public told him it is a real problem.

The Health Secretary tried to reassure the public on BBC Question Time after an audience member complained that supplied of toilet roll, pasta and paracetamol were running short in supermarkets.

But Mr Hancock appealed for people not to engage in 'herd behaviour' and insisted the government is 'absolutely confident' there will be no shortages of food or essential items.

There are mounting fears of a major outbreak in the UK as the number of cases continues to grow. Experts have warned the virus is now being transmitted between Britons, with the government's focus shifting to delaying the spread rather than preventing it altogether.

On the flagship programme last night, a woman voiced her concerns about the situation in the shops, asking 'how do we stop shortages?'

Matt Hancock (left) responded after he was challenged by an audience member (left) on the BBC's flagship Question Time programme

On the programme last night, a woman voiced her concerns about the reaction, asking 'how do we stop shortages by this?'

BEWARE DOOR HANDLES, AD CAMPAIGN WARNS Ministers have launched an advertising blitz featuring a dirty door handle, amid frantic efforts to halt the rise of coronavirus in the UK. The huge public information campaign will urge the public to wash their hands whenever they arrive somewhere. The drive is designed to change people's attitude to hygiene, amid fears the killer infection could become a seasonal problem. The ad campaign warns that the coronavirus virus can live on hard surfaces for hours Health chiefs decided to use the door handle picture after tests showed 96 per cent of people remembered the poster because of the disgust factor. In comparison, only 85 per cent could recall a poster that simply told people to wash their hands, The Times reports. A Government source told the newspaper: 'Just information works on a cognitive level. But disgust works on an emotional level.' Advertisement

Mr Hancock said: 'There is absolutely no need for individuals to go around buying more than they need.

'And in fact, part of the response of this has to be about us coming together.

'We are, after all, a herd. It's the biology that is causing the problem.

'Obviously, the very, very strong advice from the scientists, the medics, is that people should not go about buying more than they need.'

However, the woman interrupted to say that panic buying was really happening, saying she had been to the supermarket and found no dry pasta or toilet rolls.

'People are panic buying,' she said. 'There is no paracetamol that you can get in the supermarkets.'

However, Mr Hancock replied: 'I understand that but what I will say is the Government has supplies of the key things that are needed and within the food supply we are absolutely confident that there won't be a problem there.

'And crucially we are working with the supermarkets to make sure that if people are self-isolating then they will be able to get the food and supplies that the people need.'

Shoppers across the country have continued to scoop up household goods such as hand soap and disinfectant, nappies and baby wipes, as well as dried foods like pasta and rice.

Manufacturers have ramped up production and are working at 'full capacity' to ensure shelves can be re-stocked, while retailers are even considering rationing household essentials such as toilet paper in response to panic buying.

The exchange on Question Time came after Boris Johnson took to the ITV This Morning sofa yesterday to try to reassure Britons over key supplied.

The PM said he had faith in the ability of the public to see the 'balance of risk' with the disease, and he hoped they would carry on with 'business as usual' despite the number of infections soaring into triple digits.

Taking to the ITV This Morning sofa to reassure the country before the number of UK cases hit 116, Mr Johnson was asked if he could guarantee Britons will still be able to get food, and replied: 'Yes.'

Mr Hancock also told anyone self-isolating with coronavirus to stay away from their own family members as much as possible, and to wipe down shared surfaces such as in bathrooms.

He said: 'People should try to self-isolate from their families, not only go home, try not to go out shopping, definitely don't use public transport, but within your own home you should also try to self-isolate.'

He said that, as the father of three children, he understood that 'can be difficult and some people have caring responsibilities', but people should try to keep to themselves as much as possible.

Meanwhile, 142 people from the UK - including 121 passengers and 21 crew - are on the Grand Princess cruise ship currently quarantined off the coast of California.

Princess Cruises said it was following advice from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and 'all guests have been asked to stay in their staterooms while test results are pending'.

It said in a statement: 'Guests are receiving meal deliveries in their staterooms by room service, and additional television and movie options have been added to in-room programming.

'Guests have also been provided complimentary internet service to stay in contact with their family and loved ones, and the ship's internet bandwidth has been increased.'

Overall, there are 3,533 people currently on board the Grand Princess, including 2,422 guests and 1,111 crew, of 54 nationalities.

On Thursday evening, the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading said the older patient who died had been 'in and out of hospital' for other reasons but was admitted on Wednesday evening and tested positive.

It came during a day of several key developments, with the number of UK cases of Covid-19 surging to 116 - more than double the total 48 hours earlier - and Downing Street warning it was 'highly likely' the virus would spread 'in a significant way'.

The UK's first coronavirus death was an 'older patient who had underlying health conditions' who was being treated at the Royal Berkshire Hospital

BRITONS WHO HAVE TRAVELLED TO ANY PART OF ITALY WHO FEEL ILL WILL BE TOLD TO SELF-ISOLATE Public Health England has announced that Britons returning from the whole of Italy are to self-isolate if they develop symptoms of the deadly coronavirus. Chief medical officer Professor Chris Witty told a press conference today that the current advice for those returning from northern Italy is to be extended to the whole of the country. While confirming that the government was still in the phase of containing the virus, entering the delay process is the 'direction of travel' for the future, Professor Whitty said. Since the coronavirus reached British shores, the government and health bodies have been in the 'contain' phase, trying to stop the infection's ability to spread. In recent days, with evidence of community transmission, it is thought that PHE could attempt to push a major epidemic back to the summer in the hopes of slowing the rate of infections. COVID-19, which has infected 163 in the UK, is thought to spread faster in the cold. Advertisement

Health chiefs also said people diagnosed with coronavirus who show only 'very minimal' symptoms should self-isolate at home rather than in hospital, while new advice was issued to travellers returning to the UK from anywhere in Italy that they should self-isolate if they develop symptoms.

Following the news of the UK death, Prime Minister Boris Johnson offered his sympathy to the family of the patient, while England's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, said he was 'very sorry' to report the news.

He added: 'We believe they contracted the virus in the UK and contact tracing is already under way.'

Last week, a British tourist who had been on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which was quarantined in Japan, became the first UK citizen to die from the virus.

At a press conference on Thursday evening, Prof Whitty revealed that 18 people have so far recovered from coronavirus in the UK and 45 are being treated at home.

'We have moved to a situation where people have very minimal symptoms and we think they are clinically safe and they are able to self-isolate. We think it is actually safer for them, as well as more pleasant, if they can self-isolate in their own homes,' he said.

'Anybody who needs hospitalisation will be hospitalised.'

He had earlier warned that critical care beds in the NHS could come under intense pressure during a coronavirus epidemic, and told MPs the UK had mainly moved to the delay stage of tackling the virus.

This could include measures such as school closures, encouraging greater home working, and reducing the number of large-scale gatherings.

But the PM stressed it was important not to 'fire your shots too early' in escalating measures to tackle the illness.

'In something like this, what the scientists say is you've got a range of things that you can do to arrest or check the spread of a disease,' said Mr Johnson.

'But you can't fire your shots too early, it's all about the timing and the progression.'

In terms of national prevention measures, Mr Hancock said Prof Whitty told him that stopping flights into the UK would only delay the arrival of the disease 'by a matter of days'.

He added that halting flights to the UK would also make it 'much harder' to get medicines into the country because they are produced abroadProf Whitty has said half of all coronavirus cases in the UK are most likely to occur in just a three-week period, with 95% of them over a nine-week period.