Britain announced a jump in coronavirus cases on Sunday, with 13 new infections taking the total to 36, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he expected the number to rise further, Trend reports citing Reuters.
Johnson will chair a meeting of the government’s emergency response committee on Monday, signaling a step up in attempts to tackle a virus that began in China and has killed almost 3,000 people worldwide.
“We’ve found about 35 people in this country have, or have had, the illness and clearly there may be more. That is likely now to spread a bit more,” Johnson said during a visit to a public health facility in London, before another case was reported in Scotland.
“I am very confident that this country has the capacity to deal with it.”
The government has announced some details of its “battle-plan” to cope with the virus, and is expected to set out the rest later this week. Johnson said closures of public events and schools could be considered.
If the virus becomes more widespread, the government will look at registering retired health workers to work again, and whether encouraging people to work at home could delay the virus’s peak until summer when it can be more easily dealt with.