A man wears a protective face mask on Oxford Street, central London (Picture: PA)

The Health Secretary is set to call up an army of three million volunteers to reinforce the NHS in its battles with coronavirus.

Volunteers will give up a few hours of their time to support healthcare staff in hospitals, nursing homes and community centres across the country.

And volunteers will be given additional employment safeguards, allowing them to leave their main jobs and temporarily help health and social systems in the event of a widespread pandemic.

Mr Hancock insisted the Government will do ‘everything in its power’ to contain the Covid-19 outbreak, and he set out plans contained in emergency legislation to deal with the impact of the virus.


Empty shelves where toilet roll is usually stocked in an Asda store in Clapham Junction (Picture: PA)

The Bill, which is likely to go through Parliament by the end of the month, is expected to include measures to allow some court proceedings to be conducted via telephone or video.



As of Saturday morning, 206 people in the UK had tested positive for coronavirus – a rise of 42 from the 164 cases which had been confirmed by Friday evening.

On Saturday evening, a further three cases were confirmed in Northern Ireland – bringing the UK total to 209.

The Department of Health said more than 21,000 people had been tested for the virus.

Calls to the NHS 111 service have increased by more than a third compared to the same period last year, with 120,000 extra calls in the first week of March, the department said.

The number of cases in the UK has risen to 206

Five hundred additional initial call responders have been trained to handle the higher demand.

Mr Hancock said: ‘We will do all we can to contain coronavirus, but as we know, Covid-19 is spreading across the world, so I want to ensure Government is doing everything in its power to be ready to delay and mitigate this threat.

‘Public safety is my top priority. Responding to coronavirus is a massive national effort and I’m working with colleagues across government to ensure we have a proportionate emergency bill, with the right measures to deal with the impacts of a widespread Covid-19 outbreak.

‘We plan for the worst and work for the best, and the NHS is working 24/7 to fight this virus. Calls to NHS 111 have increased by more than a third and we have already put in place 500 extra staff to help with this increase.

‘Every person has a role to play in managing the spread of Covid-19 – whether that’s washing your hands more often for 20 seconds or catching your sneezes.

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His comments came as former Tory chancellor Philip Hammond said the spread of the disease had the potential to push the UK into a recession, and suggested it could pose a greater risk to the economy than a no-deal Brexit.

The ex-MP told the Sunday Times the Government needed to address a ‘critical and structural weakness in just-in-time supply chains’ which he said have been exposed by the impact of the coronavirus on businesses.

On Monday, Boris Johnson will chair a meeting of the Government’s emergency committee, Cobra, as officials accelerate work on preparations for the delay phase of the coronavirus plan.



Meanwhile sports governing bodies and broadcasters will attend a meeting with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to discuss how to handle the outbreak’s possible impact on the sporting calendar.

Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle will chair a meeting of the House of Commons Commission to discuss Parliament’s response.

And Environment Secretary George Eustice will hold further talks with retailers to discuss support for vulnerable groups who may have to self-isolate.

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