FAMILIES could soon be told to self-isolate if just ONE of them has coronavirus symptoms, it emerged today.
At the moment Brits who get ill are being told to stay away from the people in their home as best they can – and avoid contact with others.
They are told to sleep apart and stay at least two metres away from others in their house.
But in future whole families could have to go into lockdown to stop the spread further, experts said earlier.
That could be for up to a fortnight to make sure that everyone in the family has time for the symptoms to show and to get over the most infectious part of the disease.
However, that is not advice the Government is recommending at the moment – as we are not yet at the peak of the illness.
It’s not expected that advice will come in for weeks or even months to come.
Earlier today Boris Johnson told Brits to stay at home if they have a cough or cold for at least a week.
And the elderly were instructed not to go on cruise ships in case they caught the disease.
The PM has decided to keep schools open despite Ireland announcing it would shut theirs down until the end of March to try and stop the spread.
But he warned that many more loved ones would die during the epidemic, in a stark warning to the nation.
Boris described the outbreak the “worst public health crisis in a generation” and “it will spread further” as he revealed new measures to try and stop the spread.
He told the nation this afternoon at another press conference: “Many more families are going to lose loved ones before their time.”
He added: “We are not closing schools at this time.
“This could do more harm than good.”
And in a direct appeal to the nation’s elderly, he added: “The Government will do all we can to help your and your family”.
The Government today told anyone with a mild cough or temperature to stay at home for seven days following a COBRA meeting – as the total number of UK cases hit 590 with 10 deaths.
The second stage of Boris’ four-part battleplan, “delay” means Britain will now aim to slow down the spread of coronavirus and reduce the number of people being infected to delay the peak.
Professor Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer, said the measures would help to protect older and more vulnerable people – and the risk to the public was now “high”.
However, the peak of the outbreak could still be another 3 months away, Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance added.
Boris said today they were “considering” banning major public events such as sports matches, but it’s not on the cards right now.
The PM and experts have said they don’t think it will help as much as other measures.
Cancelling big events could just force people into each other’s homes and to the pub instead, they predicted.
In Scotland Nicola Sturgeon has said that public gatherings of more than 500 will be banned – but that is to release pressure on the emergency services rather than stop the spread.
It came as the FTSE 100 fell 10 per cent as the World Health Organisation declared the coronavirus a pandemic.
This has wiped nearly £150billion off shares in the biggest drop within one day since the 2008 financial crisis.
The crisis has also hit the Premier League, with Leicester City revealing three players had been put in self-isolation after displaying symptoms.
It has also impacted elections, with the Electoral Commission writing to the Government asking them to postpone the May polls because of the pandemic.
