Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday stepped up the response to the coronavirus outbreak, moving to the so called “delay phase” which includes the option of more stringent measures designed to slow down the spread of the virus.
At a meeting of the emergency committee, known as COBR, Johnson decided to move to the so called “delay phase” from the “contain phase”.
“We are now getting onto the next phase,” Johnson said. “This is now not just an attempt to contain the disease as far as possible but to delay its spread.”
He said those showing symptoms of having the virus should self-isolate for at least a week.
The British plan for dealing with the outbreak has three main phases — containment, delay and mitigation.
In the delay phase, so called social distancing measures such as school closures, more home working and reducing large scale gathering will be considered, though will not necessarily be approved immediately.
Johnson said he was not closing schools at the present time but that advice on schools could change as the virus spreads.
The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus across the UK rose 29% % to 590 over the past 24 hours.
A total of 10 people with coronavirus have died in the United Kingdom since the outbreak.
Meanwhile British insurer LV= yesterday said it had suspended sales of travel policies owing to turmoil linked to the coronavirus pandemic.
Many travellers do not ordinarily purchase travel insurance but the virus fallout has seen a spike in demand.
“In light of the significant impact that coronavirus is having globally, LV=...has taken the difficult decision to pause the sale of travel insurance to new customers,” the company said in a statement.
“In the last couple of weeks, we’ve seen the number of policies sold double.”
LV= stressed that the suspension was a temporary move, adding there would be no change for existing customers.
“We will continue to monitor the situation closely and review the decision on an ongoing basis,” the company said.
UK insurer Aviva has meanwhile adjusted its travel cover to reflect risks posed by Covid-19.
New customers can still buy insurance but would not be able to select add-on cover for “travel disruption” or “airspace closure”, it added.
Aviva has paused also the sale of single-trip insurance for customers travelling to Italy — the European country hardest hit by the coronavirus.
Food delivery service Deliveroo said it will allow orders to be left outside people’s addresses so that the courier does not have to come into contact with the customer, to minimise the risk of spreading coronavirus.
As people in Britain increasingly stay at home to avoid catching or spreading the virus, concerns have been raised that an increased demand for food delivery services would cause it to be spread by delivery staff as they go from home to home.
Under a new option available next week, Deliveroo customers will be able to use the app to request a no-contact drop-off service.
from Gulf Times https://ift.tt/39JTCFW
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