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Matt Hancock clarifies coronavirus travel advice after criticism Ministers preparing for potential big jump in coronavirus cases
(32 minutes later)
Health secretary gives statement to Commons on latest advice on travel to Italy Government planning public information campaign amid concerns of an Italy-sized outbreak
The health secretary, Matt Hancock, has clarified advice on travel to Italy following the coronavirus deaths in the north of the country after he was accused of creating confusion for British tourists. Ministers are racing to prepare the UK for a potential sudden increase in the spread of the Coronavirus, with officials fearing it could take just 72 hours for an outbreak the size of Italy’s to take hold.
On Tuesday, when asked whether he would travel to the Lombardy region, he said: “I’m not planning to go, put it that way.” His comments attracted criticism that he was contradicting official UK government advice that people should only avoid travel to towns in Lombardy that are under confinement. Amid growing concerns around the world about the pace of the spreading, health secretary Matt Hancock said the government would act to launch a mass public information campaign, giving advice on how to react to suspected cases and guard against infection.
Giving an update to MPs on Wednesday, Hancock was asked by the shadow health secretary, Jon Ashworth, about the “discrepancy”. Updating MPs in the House of Commons, he cautioned against “overreaction” but acknowledged that the government does expect more cases in the UK.
Hancock replied: “All but essential travel is not recommended to the quarantined areas in northern Italy and the advice for those returning from northern Italy is very clear, which is if you are coming back from the quarantined areas then please self-isolate and if you’re coming back from the whole of northern Italy then please self-isolate if you have symptoms. I hope that advice is clear.” The rapid expansion of Coronavirus cases in Italy – a key destination for British holidaymakers – has caused concern in recent days and officials are stepping up precautions in case a similar scenario happens in Britain.
Hancock also told the House of Commons that a wider public information scheme is to be rolled out in the UK as the World Health Organization said that for the first time there had been more new detections of Covid-19 outside China than inside the country. The decision to escalate preparations in the UK came as the World Health Organization said that the number of new cases being officially reported outside China had overtaken the number within the country for the first time, with WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus describing the steep rise in new cases around the world as “deeply concerning”.
“The public can be assured that we have a clear plan to contain, delay, research and mitigate,” Hancock told MPs. The UK has seen 13 cases of the virus so far, with no deaths. But Italy saw its confirmed cases rocket from just three on Friday to more than 200 by Monday and its total is now 374 with 12 deaths.
Amid concern about the rights of staff told to self-isolate, the health secretary said guidance had been sent to employers telling them employees in such a position were entitled to sick leave. “It’s a very important message for employers and for those who can go home and self-isolate as if they were sick because it’s for medical reasons,” said Hancock. On a day of global efforts to limit the spread of Covid-19:
He said the government was currently in the “contain” phase but had plans in place should a pandemic take hold and warned people not to overreact, urging schools to stay open. • The total number of infections in Italy stood at 322 – a rise of 45 per cent in 24 hours. 11 people have now died in the country. Italian prosecutors opened an investigation into hospital procedures amid claims that an investigation of a so-called ‘super-spreader’ was initially delayed.
Several schools in the UK were closed on Wednesday and others sent pupils home, amid fears students may have been infected on ski trips to Italy, despite updated advice from the Department for Education and Public Health England (PHE) saying children should only self-isolate if they have symptoms. • Austria, Croatia and Switzerland reported their first cases linked to the outbreak in Italy. France recorded its second death. The first case was reported in South America.
Cransley school in Northwich, Cheshire, and Trinity Catholic college in Middlesbrough have said they will be shut for the rest of the week to carry out a deep clean. The latter said a small number of staff and pupils had started showing mild flu-like symptoms following their trip. • Live event organisers considered their plans as Italy’s rugby match against Ireland in Dublin was called off and questions were raised over the Venice Biennale.
Lutton St Nicholas and Gedney Church End primary schools in Lincolnshire said they had closed because of “a potential connection to the coronavirus by an individual within the school” and St Christopher’s C of E high school in Accrington also shut its doors. • Around 160 Britons were trapped in a hotel in Tenerife which could stay in lockdown until 10 March.
Students returning from ski trips were told to stay at home by individual schools in Cornwall, Huddersfield, Cheshire and Liverpool. Sandbach high school in Cheshire said students and staff who visited Aprica in Lombardy, one of Italy’s worst-hit regions – though the town itself is not under containment – were to stay indoors and self-isolate. • 52 further deaths were reported in China, the lowest number in three weeks.
The PHE medical director, Paul Cosford, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Schools have to take difficult decisions given the complexity of issues that they are facing. What I would say is that our general advice is not to close schools.” •The WHO warned against using the term “pandemic” which it said falsely indicated that the spread could no longer be contained.
He said students should self-isolate only if they had symptoms or had travelled to one of the Italian towns under containment. It is understood the government’s public information campaign, due to be launched in the coming days, will broadcast advice about calling 111 if Coronavirus is suspected.
In Canary Wharf, a major financial district of London, the US oil company Chevron asked about 300 staff to work from home as a precaution on Wednesday after an employee reported flu-like symptoms having recently visited a country where coronavirus has been detected. A Whitehall source said: “It’s as much about winning the battle for public confidence as it is about winning the battle against the disease. There will be social media, stuff on TV, poster campaigns. It will be making sure we can reach as many people as possible.
Fears of the wider impact of Covid-19 on the world economy caused stock markets and oil markets to plummet on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 index and oil prices both hitting their lowest levels for a year. The falls came as the number of coronavirus infections, deaths and countries affected all increased. “It’s making sure that people have got the right advice. At the moment it is very much about telling people to ring 111 … It will be about what people can do to help prevent the spread like handwashing and using tissues.”
Greece and Brazil both reported their first cases, the latter being the first in Latin America. The 38-year-old Greek woman and 61-year-old Brazilian man were both reported to have returned recently from northern Italy. A 12th person – a 69-year-old man – has died in Italy, while the number of confirmed cases leapt by more than 50 to to 374. The government has been publishing more advice to employers, schools, the travel industry and health workers, but there have been complaints about mixed messages from ministers.
Iran reported 44 new cases and four more deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of deaths in the Islamic Republic to 19 – second only to China – and infections to 139. South Korea has announced 284 new cases, including a US soldier, and another death, making the totals to date 1,261 cases and 12 deaths. Ministers said there was no need to shut schools unless a new case has been confirmed at the premises, but some 40 schools have either closed their doors or sent pupils home, and the oil giant Chevron ordered 300 traders and other staff at its office in Canary Wharf to work from home. The FTSE 100 has also plummeted on fears of the global economic impact.
Mainland China reported its lowest daily death toll in more than three weeks, with 52 fatalities on Tuesday, taking the total number in the country to 2,715 deaths, with 78,064 cases in all. As well as increasing concern on UK soil, the government was faced with criticism of alleged inaction and pleas for help from around the Britons who remain in lockdown at a Tenerife hotel.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Hancock said that while the government was prepared for a pandemic, it was currently in the “contain” phase and its hope was that all its efforts to contain the virus would prevent that coming to pass.
“The public can be assured that we have a clear plan to contain, delay, research and mitigate, and that we are working methodically through each step to keep the public safe,” he said. He added: “Overreaction has its costs too, economic and social, and so we have to keep the public safe but we also need to act in a way that’s proportionate.”
Amid concern about the rights of workers told to self-isolate, the health secretary said the guidance to employers included instructions that such employees were entitled to sick leave.
“It’s a very important message for employers and for those who can go home and self-isolate as if they were sick because it’s for medical reasons,” he said.
He said that that 7,132 people in the UK have been tested for coronavirus. Of these, 13 have tested positive, eight of whom have since been discharged from hospital.
But Public Health England (PHE) announced that it was stepping up testing to ascertain “whether there’s evidence of infection more widespread than we think there is”.
PHE said tests for the virus would be carried out at hospitals as well as 100 surgeries on people who have “severe respiratory symptoms”.
Prof Jonathan Ball, professor of molecular virology at the University of Nottingham, said the increased surveillance and testing was welcome.
He said: “Many of us have been worried that the virus might be introduced into the UK under the radar and start to transmit more widely in the community. This concern is borne out by the experiences of other countries such as Italy and Iran that are suffering quite large outbreaks where the source of the virus is unknown.”
In parliament, Hancock said the NHS was looking to extend home testing for coronavirus, which has already been piloted in London.
“Home testing is the safest place to be tested because then you don’t have to go anywhere, and that will allow us to roll out testing to a much larger number of people as well,” he said.