A simple guide
A VISUAL GUIDE TO THE OUTBREAK: Virus maps and charts
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR MY HOLIDAY? Your rights as a traveler
Ministers will re-iterate that existing powers allow them to limit the use of public transport and ban mass gatherings. But they are expected to stress that, given the social and economic impact of such a move, such measures are more likely to be used to curb local outbreaks than imposed nationwide.
A bill that would allow the government to use extra powers to help control the virus is expected to go through Parliament by the end of the month.
Rules around staff-to- pupil ratios in education and childcare settings could be relaxed in case of staff sickness caused by the spread of the virus.
Under the plans, to be announced at Downing Street, retired doctors and nurses could be asked to return to the NHS, with emergency indemnity coverage could be provided for healthcare workers to provide care or diagnostic services.
Thirty hospitals across the UK could set up designated wards to treat coronavirus patients, with routine treatments cancelled in the worst- case scenario of widespread transmission in the UK.
Meanwhile, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has ordered Treasury officials to work up plans to support the public health response, businesses and the economy in his Budget on 13 March.
He said: “We are well prepared for this global threat and, as the wider economic picture becomes clearer, we stand ready to announce further support where needed. “
The prime minister, who will launch the plan alongside England’s chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, said the government was making “every possible preparation”.
The measures in the so-called battle plan would see:
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