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The World Health Organisation has cast doubt on the UK’s approach to developing "herd immunity" against Covid-19, saying the current situation around the outbreak in Britain requires "action".

Spokeswoman Margaret Harris said scientists do not know enough about the virus to say whether "theories" around people becoming immune to it are correct.

On Friday, the UK’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance hit back at criticism over the Government's handling of the virus and said the approach would hopefully create a “herd immunity” to the disease .

Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt was among those to ask why the Government had not cancelled large gatherings as part of the measures, but Sir Patrick said some of the social distancing measures put in place - including self-isolating for seven days if symptoms develop - were "actually quite extreme".

Empty London during Coronavirus - In pictures 36 show all Empty London during Coronavirus - In pictures 1/36 Tube stations were also devoid of traffic Jeremy Selwyn 2/36 An empty Piccadilly Circus on a quiet night in London PA 3/36 King's Cross railway station PA 4/36 An unusually quiet M25 motorway PA 5/36 Trafalgar Square Getty Images 6/36 Deserted check-in desks at Terminal Five of London's Heathrow Airport PA 7/36 Empty pitches are seen on Hackney Marshes Reuters 8/36 A sparsely-filled carriage on an Underground train in west London PA 9/36 A person stands on the steps below the statue of Eros, in front of the signs in an empty Piccadilly Circus, London PA 10/36 Empty car parking spaces are shown at level -3 at Westfield shopping centre Reuters 11/36 A woman in a protective face mask stands outside of St. Paul's Cathedral Reuters 12/36 The Euston Road entrance to King's Cross railway station PA 13/36 Trafalgar Square, usually packed, was empty Jeremy Selwyn 14/36 A commuter makes his way through Waterloo station at rush hour, Reuters 15/36 A much less busy Oxford Circus in London PA 16/36 Charing Cross station looked to have more trains than people for once Jeremy Selwyn 17/36 Nelson stood alone in the capital's heart Jeremy Selwyn 18/36 Restaurant seats stand empty in Covent Garden Reuters 19/36 Platforms for the Bakerloo Line at Charing Cross were desolate Jeremy Selwyn 20/36 West-end theatres stand on a sparsley populated street in London Reuters 21/36 Jeremy Selwyn 22/36 Jeremy Selwyn 23/36 The Euston underpass in London's Congestion Charge zone Jeremy Selwyn 24/36 A quiet Regent Street Getty Images 25/36 Tottenham Court Road looked sparse Jeremy Selwyn 26/36 A man walks through a sparsely populated arcade in Covent Garden Reuters 27/36 Buses that would usually have standing room only were full of empty seats Jeremy Selwyn 28/36 Some commuters were still heading to work Jeremy Selwyn 29/36 A sparsely populated Regents Street is seen in London Reuters 30/36 Dawn breaks over London Jeremy Selwyn 31/36 Paddington was also barren PA 32/36 Jeremy Selwyn 33/36 Ticket halls were sparse Jeremy Selwyn 34/36 Jeremy Selwyn 35/36 Jeremy Selwyn 36/36 A much less busy Oxford Street in London PA 1/36 Tube stations were also devoid of traffic Jeremy Selwyn 2/36 An empty Piccadilly Circus on a quiet night in London PA 3/36 King's Cross railway station PA 4/36 An unusually quiet M25 motorway PA 5/36 Trafalgar Square Getty Images 6/36 Deserted check-in desks at Terminal Five of London's Heathrow Airport PA 7/36 Empty pitches are seen on Hackney Marshes Reuters 8/36 A sparsely-filled carriage on an Underground train in west London PA 9/36 A person stands on the steps below the statue of Eros, in front of the signs in an empty Piccadilly Circus, London PA 10/36 Empty car parking spaces are shown at level -3 at Westfield shopping centre Reuters 11/36 A woman in a protective face mask stands outside of St. Paul's Cathedral Reuters 12/36 The Euston Road entrance to King's Cross railway station PA 13/36 Trafalgar Square, usually packed, was empty Jeremy Selwyn 14/36 A commuter makes his way through Waterloo station at rush hour, Reuters 15/36 A much less busy Oxford Circus in London PA 16/36 Charing Cross station looked to have more trains than people for once Jeremy Selwyn 17/36 Nelson stood alone in the capital's heart Jeremy Selwyn 18/36 Restaurant seats stand empty in Covent Garden Reuters 19/36 Platforms for the Bakerloo Line at Charing Cross were desolate Jeremy Selwyn 20/36 West-end theatres stand on a sparsley populated street in London Reuters 21/36 Jeremy Selwyn 22/36 Jeremy Selwyn 23/36 The Euston underpass in London's Congestion Charge zone Jeremy Selwyn 24/36 A quiet Regent Street Getty Images 25/36 Tottenham Court Road looked sparse Jeremy Selwyn 26/36 A man walks through a sparsely populated arcade in Covent Garden Reuters 27/36 Buses that would usually have standing room only were full of empty seats Jeremy Selwyn 28/36 Some commuters were still heading to work Jeremy Selwyn 29/36 A sparsely populated Regents Street is seen in London Reuters 30/36 Dawn breaks over London Jeremy Selwyn 31/36 Paddington was also barren PA 32/36 Jeremy Selwyn 33/36 Ticket halls were sparse Jeremy Selwyn 34/36 Jeremy Selwyn 35/36 Jeremy Selwyn 36/36 A much less busy Oxford Street in London PA

Questioning the approach, Dr Harris told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “We don’t know enough about the science of this virus, it hasn’t been in our population for long enough for us to know what it does in immunological terms.

“Every virus functions differently in your body and stimulates a different immunological profile.

“We can talk theories, but at the moment we are really facing a situation where we have got to look at action.”

In Pictures | Every major sporting event affected by coronavirus 30 show all In Pictures | Every major sporting event affected by coronavirus 1/30 Action Images via Reuters 2/30 Euro 2020 The European Championship will now be playing from June 11 to July 11 in 2021. AP 3/30 Premier League The Premier League has been postponed until April 3, with a view to fixtures being held on April 4 at the earliest. Getty Images 4/30 EFL The EFL - the Championship, League 1 and League 2 - will see no further action until April 3 at the earliest.



Grassroots football has been postponed until further notice. Getty Images 5/30 Champions League The remaining last-16 ties, and future draws for the quarter-finals and beyond, have been postponed indefinitely. UEFA via Getty Images 6/30 Europa League As with the Champions League, the remaining Europa League last-16 ties and future draws have been postponed indefinitely. UEFA via Getty Images 7/30 LaLiga All professional leagues in Spain have been postponed for the next two weeks. AFP via Getty Images 8/30 Bundesliga All games have been suspended until April 2. Bongarts/Getty Images 9/30 England internationals Scheduled friendlies against both Italy and Denmark for late March have been cancelled. Getty Images 10/30 Scottish football All Scottish Premiership and Scottish Football League fixtures have been postponed until further notice. Getty Images 11/30 Six Nations Ireland vs Italy (March 7) and Italy vs England and France vs Ireland (March 8) postponed. Guinness Pro14 has been suspended indefinitely. REUTERS 12/30 French Open The French Open is the first grand slam to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, moving from May to September. AFP via Getty Images 13/30 London Marathon The 2020 London Marathon has been moved to October 4.



The London Landmarks Half Marathon has been postponed, with a new date yet to be confirmed. AFP via Getty Images 14/30 Olympic Games Tokyo will now host the Olympics in 2021, with new dates yet to be confirmed. AFP via Getty Images 15/30 Grand National Locked gates at Aintree Racecourse, Liverpool, following yesterday's announcement that the 2020 Randox Health Grand National, due to take place on Saturday April 4, 2020, has been cancelled PA 16/30 Horseracing The Grand National has been called off. PA 17/30 Premiership Rugby Cup Final The final between Sale and Harlequins on Sunday 15 March has been postponed Getty Images 18/30 Rugby League Rugby Football League and Super League has been suspended until April 3. Getty Images 19/30 Athletics World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China (Mar 13-15) called off.



Paris Marathon (Apr 5) postponed until Oct 18 and Rome Marathon (Mar 29) cancelled.



Boston Marathon (Apr 20) also postponed. AFP via Getty Images 20/30 Basketball NBA season suspended “until further notice”. USA TODAY Sports 21/30 Baseball MLB season delayed for at least two weeks. REUTERS 22/30 Cricket England's tour of Sri Lanka has been called off due to coronavirus.



The 2020 IPL season has been postponed until April 15. PA 23/30 Cycling UAE Tour race cancelled with two stages left, while Team INEOS among teams to withdraw from racing until Mar 23. AFP via Getty Images 24/30 Darts European Darts Grand Prix in Sindelfingen, European Darts Open in Leverkusen and next month’s German Darts Grand Prix in Munich cancelled as well as the Rotterdam leg of the Premier League. Getty Images 25/30 Golf The Masters has been postponed, following a similar fate for the Players Championship at Sawgrass.



Meanwhile, the European Tour postponements include the Maybank Championship, China Open, Kenya Open, Indian Open and Czech Masters.



Next three tournaments on LPGA Tour postponed. Getty Images 26/30 Ice Hockey NHL season has been suspended. AP 27/30 Ice Skating World Short Track Speed Skating Championships (Mar 13-15) and World Figure Skating Championships (Mar 16-22) cancelled. Getty Images 28/30 Motorsport Sunday’s opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne called off, followed soon by Bahrain and Vietnam GPs.



Formula E races at Sanya, Rome and Jakarta postponed, while the opening four races of the MotoGP season in Qatar, Thailand, US and Argentina called off. AFP via Getty Images 29/30 Snooker China Open (Mar 30-Apr 5) in Beijing cancelled. Getty Images 30/30 Other tennis ATP and WTA Tours suspended until late April. Major tournaments that have fallen include Paribas Open at Indian Wells while next month’s Fed Cup finals in Budapest and Fed Cup play-offs, due to be held in eight locations, are off. Getty Images 1/30 Action Images via Reuters 2/30 Euro 2020 The European Championship will now be playing from June 11 to July 11 in 2021. AP 3/30 Premier League The Premier League has been postponed until April 3, with a view to fixtures being held on April 4 at the earliest. Getty Images 4/30 EFL The EFL - the Championship, League 1 and League 2 - will see no further action until April 3 at the earliest.



Grassroots football has been postponed until further notice. Getty Images 5/30 Champions League The remaining last-16 ties, and future draws for the quarter-finals and beyond, have been postponed indefinitely. UEFA via Getty Images 6/30 Europa League As with the Champions League, the remaining Europa League last-16 ties and future draws have been postponed indefinitely. UEFA via Getty Images 7/30 LaLiga All professional leagues in Spain have been postponed for the next two weeks. AFP via Getty Images 8/30 Bundesliga All games have been suspended until April 2. Bongarts/Getty Images 9/30 England internationals Scheduled friendlies against both Italy and Denmark for late March have been cancelled. Getty Images 10/30 Scottish football All Scottish Premiership and Scottish Football League fixtures have been postponed until further notice. Getty Images 11/30 Six Nations Ireland vs Italy (March 7) and Italy vs England and France vs Ireland (March 8) postponed. Guinness Pro14 has been suspended indefinitely. REUTERS 12/30 French Open The French Open is the first grand slam to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, moving from May to September. AFP via Getty Images 13/30 London Marathon The 2020 London Marathon has been moved to October 4.



The London Landmarks Half Marathon has been postponed, with a new date yet to be confirmed. AFP via Getty Images 14/30 Olympic Games Tokyo will now host the Olympics in 2021, with new dates yet to be confirmed. AFP via Getty Images 15/30 Grand National Locked gates at Aintree Racecourse, Liverpool, following yesterday's announcement that the 2020 Randox Health Grand National, due to take place on Saturday April 4, 2020, has been cancelled PA 16/30 Horseracing The Grand National has been called off. PA 17/30 Premiership Rugby Cup Final The final between Sale and Harlequins on Sunday 15 March has been postponed Getty Images 18/30 Rugby League Rugby Football League and Super League has been suspended until April 3. Getty Images 19/30 Athletics World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China (Mar 13-15) called off.



Paris Marathon (Apr 5) postponed until Oct 18 and Rome Marathon (Mar 29) cancelled.



Boston Marathon (Apr 20) also postponed. AFP via Getty Images 20/30 Basketball NBA season suspended “until further notice”. USA TODAY Sports 21/30 Baseball MLB season delayed for at least two weeks. REUTERS 22/30 Cricket England's tour of Sri Lanka has been called off due to coronavirus.



The 2020 IPL season has been postponed until April 15. PA 23/30 Cycling UAE Tour race cancelled with two stages left, while Team INEOS among teams to withdraw from racing until Mar 23. AFP via Getty Images 24/30 Darts European Darts Grand Prix in Sindelfingen, European Darts Open in Leverkusen and next month’s German Darts Grand Prix in Munich cancelled as well as the Rotterdam leg of the Premier League. Getty Images 25/30 Golf The Masters has been postponed, following a similar fate for the Players Championship at Sawgrass.



Meanwhile, the European Tour postponements include the Maybank Championship, China Open, Kenya Open, Indian Open and Czech Masters.



Next three tournaments on LPGA Tour postponed. Getty Images 26/30 Ice Hockey NHL season has been suspended. AP 27/30 Ice Skating World Short Track Speed Skating Championships (Mar 13-15) and World Figure Skating Championships (Mar 16-22) cancelled. Getty Images 28/30 Motorsport Sunday’s opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne called off, followed soon by Bahrain and Vietnam GPs.



Formula E races at Sanya, Rome and Jakarta postponed, while the opening four races of the MotoGP season in Qatar, Thailand, US and Argentina called off. AFP via Getty Images 29/30 Snooker China Open (Mar 30-Apr 5) in Beijing cancelled. Getty Images 30/30 Other tennis ATP and WTA Tours suspended until late April. Major tournaments that have fallen include Paribas Open at Indian Wells while next month’s Fed Cup finals in Budapest and Fed Cup play-offs, due to be held in eight locations, are off. Getty Images

Her comments come as plans get under way to ban mass gatherings from next week as the Government looks to implement more extreme measures in the fight against Covid-19.

Boris Johnson had faced criticism for not taking such actions, despite similar steps being taken by other European countries as the pandemic worsens. Emergency legislation bringing in beefed-up powers will be published next week and there could also be a move towards more people working from home, a Whitehall source said.

The Times reported the laws could also give police and immigration officers to detain people if they are suspected of being infected and the ability to direct schools to stay open. The newspaper said the laws could remain in place for two years.

Scores of major sporting and cultural events have already been suspended , despite the Government resisting calls to ban mass events in its latest guidance earlier this week. Scotland had already announced a ban on gatherings of more than 500 people.

Care Minister Helen Whately told the BBC: “We are following the evidence. As the chief medical officer said, and I have been advised, the evidence tells us that stopping mass gatherings doesn’t have a huge impact on the spread of the virus.

“But, for example, decisions have been taken in some countries because of the impact on public services and because, when you have a mass gatherings, that draws on the police and the ambulance service you need to support it.”