The number of coronavirus cases in the UK has reached 163 after 47 more people tested positive for the disease in the last 24 hours.

The government has warned a "significant" spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, is now "highly likely".

A second person in the UK is feared to have died from the virus, Sky News understands.

The man was understood to be in his late 80s, had underlying health conditions and died at Milton Keynes Hospital.

It comes after a woman in her 70s became the first person in the UK to die after testing positive for coronavirus.


Here is where the UK cases of COVID-19 are:

Twenty nine cases in London

Twenty four cases in South East England

Twenty two cases in South West England

Twenty one cases in the North West of England

Thirteen cases in the North East and Yorkshire

Twelve cases in the Midlands

Eleven cases in the East of England

Eleven cases in Scotland

Three cases in Northern Ireland

Two cases in Wales

Fifteen cases are undetermined

Bristol has had its first confirmed case of COVID-19 after a person who lives in the city became infected while in northern Italy.

On Thursday, seven new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in the Republic of Ireland, taking the total in the country to 13.

The new patients included a case of "community transmission" after a man linked to Cork University Hospital caught the virus.

As a result, the hospital cancelled all outpatient appointments on Friday and said strict visiting restrictions are in place.

Four men who had travelled to northern Italy and two women who had close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 were also among the new cases.

COVID-19: Who are the most vulnerable?

In the UK, local regions reported on Thursday that two new coronavirus cases were in Staffordshire, one was linked to the University of Sussex in Brighton, two were in Wigan, one in Rotherham, two in Liverpool, and one in Birmingham.

HSBC evacuated its entire research department and parts of its trading floor at its Canary Wharf offices in London after a member of staff tested positive for coronavirus.

Scotland's chief medical officer, Dr Catherine Calderwood, said three new Scottish patients confirmed on Thursday were from the Forth Valley, Greater Glasgow & Clyde, and Grampian areas.

Image: A woman wears a mask on the London Underground

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "We will continue to try to contain this virus. However it's now highly likely that the virus is going to spread in a significant way."

England's chief medical officer told MPs the UK is now in the second phase of its response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Professor Chris Whitty said Britain was "mainly" in the "delay" phase of the government's four-stage approach to COVID-19.

But he said he was expecting the number of UK cases to go up over the coming weeks due to evidence of "some level of community transmission".

In its 27-page plan to deal with a major outbreak, the government has said up to one in five workers could be off sick during a peak in coronavirus cases.

In a worst case scenario, it said up to 80% of the population could become infected, with people hospitalised with pneumonia and a relatively high death rate among the elderly and frail.

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Meanwhile, the government has launched an advertising campaign - featuring across print, radio, online, and billboards - in the fight against COVID-19.

Hand-washing remains the central advice - but the government has also said it would consider closing schools, encourage working from home and the reduction of large-scale gatherings to slow the spread of the disease.

People should wash their hands for 20 seconds and use soap and water or hand sanitiser.

The adverts also stress the importance of coughing or sneezing into tissues.

There is no vaccine yet for the new viral infection, which health officials think spreads mainly from droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

The symptoms include fever, coughing and difficulty breathing.

Virus Outbreak: Global Emergency - Watch a special Sky News programme on coronavirus at 6pm weekdays