FILE PHOTO: A woman wearing a protective mask walks along the platform at Leicester Square underground station in London, Britain, February 27, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

(This March 4 story corrects headline, paragraph 1 to say “notifiable” designation to be implemented in England, and clarifies other British regions have already classified it as “notifiable”)

(Reuters) - England will formally register COVID-19, a disease caused by the new coronavirus, as “notifiable”, BBC reported on Wednesday.

“To mitigate the impact on businesses, we will register COVID19 as a notifiable disease,” BBC quoted a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) as saying.

“This will help companies seek compensation through their insurance policies in the event of any cancellations they may have to make as a result of the spread of the virus.”

Other British regions have already classified it as a notifiable disease, BBC added.