Boris Johnson and his fiancée Carrie Symonds, with her emerald engagement ring visible, attending the England v Wales rugby match at Twickenham yesterday

Ministers are preparing for a potential coronavirus death toll as high as 100,000 as they try to brace the country for months of upheaval without spreading panic.

Boris Johnson will chair his second meeting of the Cobra emergency committee tomorrow, where medical experts are expected to recommend that the government move formally into the second “delay” phase of the government’s response.

That could lead to more people working from home and fewer public gatherings.

It came as the UK reported the largest daily rise in cases after 273 people tested positive, up from 209 yesterday. As of 9am this morning more than 23,500 people have been tested, the department of health said.

Officials in Whitehall last week began describing a 100,000 figure as the “central