Boris Johnson faced a backlash today after he held off a decision on upgrading the government's coronavirus response despite a Cobra meeting hearing that the UK faces a 'significant' outbreak.

The PM chaired a meeting of the emergency committee - but it stopped short of shifting the official strategy from the 'contain' phase to focus on efforts to delay the spread.

That could potentially see people being advised to work from home where possible, and vulnerable people – the elderly or those with long-term health problems – urged to stay at home to avoid becoming infected.

More dramatic options include pubs, church halls and schools being closed and football matches called off - although ministers stress those moves are more likely later in the crisis.

Mr Johnson's official spokesman said: 'We remain in the contain phase but it is now accepted that this virus is going to spread in a significant way.'

Asked whether the government was being slow to act, the spokesman said the response was based on scientific advice. 'From the beginning of the outbreak we have based all of our decisions on the best available scientific advice and we will continue to do so,' he said.

However, former Tory Cabinet minister Rory Stewart said the example of China, and his experience in the Ebola outbreak in Africa last year, showed Mr Johnson could not afford to wait. 'What you will find is that the government will eventually close schools,' he told LBC radio. 'We should be doing it tomorrow.'

Public Health England has announced the UK's fourth death, and today it was confirmed 48 more patients, including five in Scotland and two in Wales, have been diagnosed with the life-threatening illness which has left millions living in fear.

The UK's total infection toll now sits at 321, with the number having risen almost eight-fold in the space of a week. Outbreaks in Italy, France, Germany and Spain have also dramatically increased in size.

The economy is being battered by the consequences of the outbreak, with the UK's FTSE 100 index suffering the worst drop since the 2008 financial crisis.

Boris Johnson (pictured with fiancee Carrie Symonds at a Commonweath Day service in Westminster today) has chaired Cobra amid signs coronavirus is starting to take hold in the UK

Grant Shapps (left) and Rishi Sunak were at the Cobra meeting in Whitehall today

Almost 300 people in the UK have now been diagnosed with the coronavirus five weeks after the first two patients – a mother and son in York – were confirmed on January 31

Former Tory Cabinet minister Rory Stewart told LBC the example of China, and his experience in the Ebola outbreak in Africa last year, showed Mr Johnson could not afford to wait

Health Secretary Matt Hancock is seen in Downing Street ahead of this morning's Cobra meeting, which was also attended by Paymaster General Penny Mordaunt (right)

A woman wearing a face mask as she walked through the arrivals gate at Gatwick Airport, London, this morning

A family are pictured wearing face masks outside Buckingham Palace today

Mr Johnson told the Cobra meeting this morning that tackling the outbreak will require a 'national and international effort'.

He told meeting: 'I am confident the British people are ready to play their part.'

The Cobra committee was expected to decide whether the UK should officially move from the 'contain' to the 'delay' phase of the Government's battle plan to deal with coronavirus.

Chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, and chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, were there.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE 'DELAY' AND 'CONTAIN' PHASES OF THE ACTION PLAN? The Government will today consider upgrading its efforts to stop the coronavirus. It is using a four-point scale taken from an official 'coronavirus action plan' which was launched by Prime Minister Boris Johnson at 10 Downing Street last week. Efforts are currently in the first phase, named 'contain', but could escalate to 'delay'. Future efforts in the Delay phase could include school closures, encouraging people to work from home and cancelling large public gatherings such as the London Marathon. The efforts would be added on to a public information campaign which launched last week and is urging people to wash their hands more often – increasing engagement with the public is an element of the Delay phase which was started early. And efforts from the Contain phase, such as isolating people confirmed to have the virus and updating travel and health advice, will be continued. Advertisement

However, the discussions ended with no change to the stance.

Mr Stewart criticised the government for not taking drastic action immediately.

The former Cabinet minister and London Mayor hopeful told LBC that Mr Johnson should not be pushing the decision on to scientists, and schools should be closed.

'I feel the government should be moving faster and I'm afraid there are many reasons that governments tend to be too slow. One of them is that the costs of acting early are always very very high,' he said.

'I'm afraid we need to move fast to limit the exposure.

'I would be, for example, shutting down all schools now. I would also be banning large gatherings.'

Mr Stewart added: 'Only the leader can decide whether to close the school today or leave it another week. No scientist can tell you that because these are judgement calls...

'You are an act early person or you are someone who is hoping it will be alright.'

The Government's battle plan has four phases – the latter two are called 'research' and 'mitigate'.

Last week, Professory Whitty said UK efforts are already partly in the 'delay' phase – which includes public health campaigns to warn people about the virus – but it has not been officially declared.

A change would raise the prospect of schools closing, large events like London Marathon being cancelled and relaxed sick pay rules so that people can receive statutory pay from their first day of illness.

The World Health Organization's Dr David Nabarro said on BBC Radio 4 this morning: 'It is not just the big events. I want to stress it is also gatherings in community halls, in religious spaces and services, and also in pubs and the like.

'It will be that sort of gathering that the Government will look at, as well as of course the big events.'

Writing in The Sun today, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Jenny Harries said: 'It is now likely the virus is going to spread so we are stepping up planning to delay the peak of the outbreak to reduce the number of patients coming into the NHS during our busy winter period.

'We may in the future recommend certain measures, such as working from home or asking more vulnerable people to stay at home.'

The high level discussions come as:

Supermarkets placed restrictions on items including pasta, anti-bacterial wipes and hand soap in a bid to prevent shoppers from stockpiling, amid reports of people panic-buying in shops;

The Foreign Office and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said it was 'working intensively' with US authorities on arranging a flight for British nationals on the coronavirus-hit Grand Princess cruise ship due to arrive in Oakland, California, on Monday;

British tourists were warned to avoid all but essential travel to large parts of northern Italy which is under a coronavirus quarantine, including Milan and Venice;

Travellers returning from the lockdown areas in northern Italy were advised to self-isolate if they have returned to the UK in the last 14 days, even if have they have no coronavirus symptoms;

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport prepared to host a meeting with governing bodies and broadcasters on Monday to discuss how to handle the Covid-19 outbreak's potential impact on the sporting calendar;

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said expert teams had been brought together to tackle the potential spread of 'misinformation and digital interference' around coronavirus.

Simon Stevens, the chief executive officer of the NHS (centre) is pictured walking to the Cabinet Office for today's Cobra meeting

The coronavirus has now infected more than 110,000 people around the world and killed at least 3,825 – it has reached most corners of the globe except for East Africa

The UK has confirmed 69 new coronavirus cases bringing its total count to 278. Pictured above is a woman wearing a face mask walking past an empty aisle in a London Asda store

The Government's plans to bring harsher measures into action to stop the virus come after a third person died in the UK on Sunday.

A man in his 60s, who had long-term illnesses, died at North Manchester General Hospital after testing positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

REVEALED: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CORONAVIRUS IN THE UK What is the scale of the problem? Cases of coronavirus in the UK more than doubled in 48 hours as the country moved towards the 'delay phase' of tackling the virus. A patient with underlying health conditions became the first person in the UK to die after testing positive. The older patient had been 'in an out of hospital' for other reasons but was admitted on Wednesday evening to the Royal Berkshire Hospital and tested positive. Some 116 people have tested positive, including 105 in England, two in Wales, six in Scotland and three in Northern Ireland. Just two days ago there were 51 UK cases. China has reported more than 80,000 cases and almost 3,000 deaths. Outside China, there have been more than 12,000 cases and over 200 deaths across more than 75 countries. How bad could it get? Half of all coronavirus cases in the UK are most likely to occur in just a three-week period, with 95 per cent of them over a nine-week period, according to England's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty. Professor Whitty said he had a 'reasonably high degree of confidence' that one per cent is at the 'upper limit' of the mortality rate for the virus, although Wuhan in China, which has a weaker health system, had seen an eight to nine per cent mortality rate for those aged 80 and over. What is the Government doing now? The UK has moved to the delay stage, which means measures can be ramped up to delay its spread, with possibilities including school closures, encouraging greater home working, and reducing the number of large-scale gatherings. However, officials say closing schools would possibly only have a 'marginal effect', adding that children do not appear to be as badly affected by Covid-19 as other groups. Advertisement

A man in his 80s in Milton Keynes and a woman in her 70s in Reading were the other two fatalities announced last week.

Cases in the UK are continuing to rise closer to 300 and the majority of people infected with the coronavirus are no longer being admitted to hospital, unless they have bad symptoms or at a high risk of getting pneumonia.

Escalating numbers mean the virus is all but out of control in the UK and it will continue to spread over the coming days and weeks.

Environment Secretary George Eustice said he will hold further talks with retailers today on how to support vulnerable groups who may have to self-isolate.

House of Commons speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, will also chair a joint meeting of the House of Commons and House of Lords commissions to discuss Parliament's response .

Over the weekend, medical experts warned of the pressure being placed on the NHS due to the outbreak.

GP surgeries in Wales are expected to receive packs of protective face masks, gloves and aprons this week to support their treatment of people with suspected coronavirus.

Meanwhile in Italy, around 16 million people have been placed under lockdown – including those in Milan, Venice and Como – as its COVID-19 linked death toll rose to 366.

Extraordinary measures passed by the government have placed restrictions on museums, cinemas, shopping centres and restaurants until the start of April.

The FCO said British nationals are still able to leave Italy without restriction.

Budget airline easyJet said it was cancelling some flights to Milan Malpensa, Milan Linate, Venice and Verona airports, with further flight reductions expected to come.

The FTSE 100 economic index plunged 8.5 per cent this morning and saw its value bomb by £130billion, as markets and the price of oil collapsed on 'Black Monday' because of coronavirus.

London's index of its 100 most valuable companies was predicted to open at least 300 points down this morning – but the drop was worse and hit 550 points as coronavirus cases soared above 110,000 worldwide.

Among the biggest fallers were oil giants BP and Royal Dutch Shell, whose stocks tumbled more than 20 per cent, while travel firm Tui was down more than 14 per cent.

The FTSE 100 fell off a cliff this morning, dropping more than it has in a single day since the 2008 financial crisis, as global markets continued to panic over coronavirus

Stock markets around the world took a battering this morning as global fears grow – a drop larger than anything since the 2008 crisis hit UK markets and one analyst warned of 'utter carnage'

The price of oil also bombed today – US West Texas Intermediate crude, one of the main price benchmarks for oil, dropped 27% to $30 per barrel - the lowest level since February 2016

GOVERNMENT ADVISES AGAINST 'ALL BUT ESSENTIAL TRAVEL' TO NORTHERN ITALY The British Foreign Office has advised against 'all but essential travel' to a number of areas in northern Italy as total cases reach more than 7,000. It warned citizens to avoid traditional tourist hotspots such as Venice and Milan due to control and isolation measures imposed by Italian authorities and cases of coronavirus reported. Rome has already placed the Lombardy region, with a population of 16million, on lock-down. It comes as UK employers are also reported to be sending employees that have recently travelled to Italy home for a two-week isolation period. The Foreign Office warned against all travel to the Lombardy region alongside the provinces of Emilia Romagna and Piemonte. It also warned against visiting Pesaro e Urbino in Marche and Treviso and Venice in the Veneto region. It first warned against travel to eleven towns in northern Italy on February 25 after 322 coronavirus cases were reported. Advertisement

The top performer was Tesco, down just one per cent, as Britons ramped up stockpiling amid fears the UK could soon be placed in an Italian-style lockdown.

Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said: 'This will be remembered as Black Monday.

'If you thought it couldn't get any worse than the last fortnight, think again. It's utter carnage out there.

'The oil price shock has totally unnerved investors, while Italy's decision to quarantine 16 million citizens in the north of the country has left markets feeling like the coronavirus outbreak is out of control - where next? The UK is preparing for the worst.'

Japan's Nikkei index plummeted 6.2 per cent overnight, while the Australian stock market suffered its worst day since the 2008 crash because coronavirus is now expected to tip the economy into recession.

Stock markets in Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Sydney and Saudi Arabia all also dropped, and New York is expected to follow suit later.

The markets have recoiled after the Italian government this weekend announced it was locking down an area in the north which is home to some 16million people.

While regions of Italy are under an extreme quarantine in which people face a three-month prison sentence for leaving locked-down areas, Britons are free to travel home without facing penalties.

The death toll in Italy from coronavirus has risen by 133 to 366 while the number of confirmed cases in the country increased by 1,492 to 7,375 last week.

The UK Foreign Office confirmed that British tourists in the northern parts of the country – the worst affected region – 'are free to return home or complete their holiday' under guidelines from the Italian government.

They said nationals will not be met by anyone at the airport in Britain, nor will they be put into quarantine or tested.

Large areas of northern Italy have been put in lockdown and residents face jail time if they try to leave, but tourists are free to return home

Soldiers and police are pictured checking travellers at the Stazione Centrale in Milan, Italy

Milan's Stazione Centrale is deserted as the region around the city has gone into lockdown amid the spread of more than 7,000 cases of coronavirus in just a couple of weeks

UK TRAVELLERS FACE LOSING MONEY IF THEY CANCEL ITALY TRIPS UK holidaymakers who have booked summer trips to Italy face losing money if they want to cancel now because of the coronavirus, a travel trade association has warned. ABTA The Travel Association said people who have paid for package holidays not due to begin in the next few days will need to wait to see if the situation changes. On Sunday, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) updated its stance to advise against all but essential travel to parts of northern Italy, including Venice, Milan and Parma. Anyone imminently due to visit the locations named by the FCO on a package holiday should be offered alternative arrangements by their travel provider and a full refund if there are no suitable options. If a tour operator refuses, customers may be entitled to compensation under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements 2018 regulations. But ABTA said 'it is too early' to say that summer holidays cannot go ahead as planned. 'If you cancel early you may have to pay cancellation charges,' it added. Approximately three million British nationals visit Italy every year. Anyone who has booked flights or accommodation directly should contact their airline and accommodation provider to see what flexibility they are offering. They should also check their travel insurance as it may cover non-refundable cancellation costs for trips to areas where the FCO is advising against all but essential travel. Advertisement

But rules for people in the UK could become stricter in the coming days and weeks, and have longer-lasting effects impacting on schools and prisons.

Measures such as releasing 'low risk' prisoners from jail and postponing school exams could be implemented to delay the outbreak, according to government plans.

Exam boards are drawing up plans to delay GCSEs and A-levels amid fears the epidemic will be at its height as exam season starts.

The boards are planning for a 'range of scenarios', working with regulator Ofqual to prepare for rule changes in case pupils are forced to miss lessons or assessments.

Any who underperform due to fallout from the virus will be awarded 'special consideration' grades, while those unable to make an exam will be graded based on previous performance.

And a Ministry of Justice blueprint revealed that low-risk prisoners could be set free if staff numbers take a hit from the virus.

Proposals are in place to relieve pressure on the system if significant members of staff become ill or are placed in isolation, according to the Sunday Times.

A senior source said: 'You can shut a school down but you can't just shut down a prison. Prisoners need to be looked after. They require basic food and provisions.

'Running the present system would become impossible if 50 per cent of the staff have fallen ill.'

Care homes have been advised to go into lockdown in the event of a major coronavirus outbreak, with visitors banned and sick patients confined to their bedrooms.

And councils are said to be preparing to stop weekly bin collections if they are forced to prioritise services.

A senior Whitehall source said local authorities may have to 'prioritise certain routes or areas' such as main roads of the high street.

Day-to-day life is already starting to change for some in the UK, with supermarkets left with empty shelves this weekend as paranoid shoppers pulled products from stores as the panic surrounding the coronavirus intensified.

One Asda store in Burgh Heath in Surrey (pictured above) was left with a short supply of pasta

One Tesco store in London (above) was left without any spaghetti and revealed it was limiting purchases to five per customer

Tesco also introduced a limitation on the amount of toilet roll people could purchase

Pictures from one Asda store in London showed aisles that had been stripped of toilet roll.

And another in Burgh Heath, Surrey, was left with a small selection of long life food products such as pasta and tinned fish after customers raced to the tills amid the chaos surrounding the virus.

Government officials earlier this week had urged people not to panic-buy, but scenes from across the country revealed many were taking no notice, and instead many decided to fill their trolleys to the brim with cleaning products, hand sanitisers and toilet rolls.