A further 12 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the UK bringing the total to 51, the health secretary has said.

Cabinet minister Matt Hancock announced the new cases during a speech in Parliament in which he outlined the government's 'battle plan' for dealing with a potential coronavirus pandemic.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the threat of coronavirus to the UK is “increasingly serious” but stressed the government and the NHS are “well-prepared”.

He said: “The situation facing the country is increasingly serious.

“Globally and at home the number of cases continues to rise.

“As of 9am today there were 51 confirmed cases in the UK and it’s becoming more likely that we will see widespread transmission here in this country.”

In recent days cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Bury, Leeds, Bradford, Kent, Essex and the Cotswolds.

Two patients are said to have contracted the infection from an unknown source within the UK, while the remaining patients have even been connected to a previous confirmed cases, or have recently travelled to an infected area.

For the latest on the outbreak, follow our coronavirus live updates here.

The coronavirus outbreak could lead to a fifth of workers being absent, cause the police to drop low-priority cases and force the NHS to delay non-urgent care, according to the government’s battle plan.

Launching the plan at a press conference in 10 Downing Street, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he had “no doubt at all” that the “country is going to get through coronavirus, and get through it in good shape”.

But he stressed it was “highly likely” the number of coronavirus cases in the UK will rise.

He said: “Let me be absolutely clear that for the overwhelming majority of people who contract the virus, this will be a mild disease from which they will speedily and fully recover, as we have already seen.

“But I fully understand public concern, your concern, about the global spread of the virus and it is highly likely that we will see a growing number of UK cases, and that’s why keeping the country safe is the Government’s overriding priority, and our plan means we are committed to doing everything possible, based on the advice of our world-leading scientific experts, to prepare for all eventualities.”

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