Stop non-essential contact with others: UK's Johnson

LONDON The British public should avoid all non-essential contact after a further 20 deaths were reported from the outbreak in just 24 hours, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told a press conference on Monday. Johnson sounded a note of warning, saying: “It looks as though we’re now approaching the fast growth part of the upward curve. And without drastic action, cases could double every five or six days.” He asked everyone to avoid non-essential contact with each other, including social outings. “Now is the time for everyone to stop non-essential contact with others and to stop all unnecessary travel,” he said. “We need people to start working from home where they possibly can. And you should avoid pubs, clubs, theatres, and other such social venues.” He stressed this advice was particularly important for the most vulnerable in society: “This advice about avoiding all unnecessary social contact, is particularly important for people over 70, for pregnant women, and for those with some health conditions.” He added that the advice for those over 70 extends to MPs and Lords in parliament, with no exceptions. “In a few days’ time – by this coming weekend – it will be necessary to go further and to ensure that those with the most serious health conditions are largely shielded from social contact for around 12 weeks,” he said. He repeated the government’s advice that if one member of a household show symptoms such as a fever or persistent cough, the entire family should self-isolate for 14 days. Long haul London in particular is a hotspot for the epidemic, he said: “It’s now clear that the peak of the epidemic is coming faster in some parts of the country than in others. And it looks as though London is now a few weeks ahead. “So, to relieve the pressure on the London health system and to slow the spread in London, it’s important that Londoners now pay special attention to what we are saying about avoiding non-essential contact, and to take particularly seriously the advice about working from home, and avoiding confined spaces such as pubs and restaurants.” Johnson spoke alongside Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty and Chief Scientific Advisor Sir Patrick Vallance. Whitty said: “People should be thinking of a minimum of weeks to months and, depending how it goes, it may be longer. It’s really important people realize they are in for the long haul on this.” Separately, updating the virus’ spread, a Department of Health statement said: “Across the U.K., there have been 44,105 concluded tests, of which 42,562 were confirmed negative, and 1,543 positive. “Fifty-five patients who tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) have sadly died.” Worst-case scenario On Sunday, The Guardian reported that it had access to a secret briefing document by Public Health England that said the coronavirus epidemic could last until Spring 2021, with as many as 80% of the population infected, and 7.9 million hospitalized. Johnson’s spokesman downplayed the document at a press briefing on Monday, saying it was a worst-case scenario and that the government did not expect around 8 million people to be hospitalized in reality. “I think what the documents reflect is the reasonable worst-case scenario which we have set out very clearly in the plan we published a week ago now,” he said. “It does not mean that is what we expect to happen... A reasonable worst-case scenario is what we are planning for and that is what any responsible government would do. But that does not mean that’s what we expect to happen.” The novel coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China last December, and has so far spread to at least 146 countries and territories, with the World Health Organization declaring the outbreak a pandemic. According to Worldometer, a website that compiles new case numbers, out of roughly 173,000 confirmed cases, the death toll is over 6,600, while more than 77,500 of them have recovered. The current number of active cases is over 88,500, with 93% in mild condition and 7% in critical condition.