Four more patients have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK, bringing the total number to 40, the Department of Health has confirmed.
The news was announced on Monday afternoon, with Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty confirming the patients had previously travelled to Italy. The patients are from Hertfordshire, Devon and Kent, he said on Twitter.
The latest development comes after a further 13 cases were announced in the UK yesterday, with the total now standing at 40.
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Five of the patients announced on Sunday are believed to have caught the virus while in the UK, while others had travelled from Italy and Iran.
With the increase of homegrown cases, Public Health England has declared the widespread transmission of coronavirus in the UK is "highly likely".
Medical director Professor Paul Cosford said: "We should expect that might be quite challenging for us, it is therefore very important that we do everything we can to reduce the spread of infection."
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Prime minister Boris Johnson chaired an emergency Cobra meeting today where the official government plan on how to tackle and contain the virus was signed off.
The prime minister has said the UK "will stop at nothing" in the fight against coronavirus. This could include retired doctors and nurses returning to the NHS, while people could be urged to work from home.
Other restrictions could see major public events being cancelled as well as closing schools.
Following the meeting, Boris Johnson said the spread of the virus in the UK was "likely".
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"We have also agreed a plan so that if and when it starts to spread, as I'm afraid it looks likely it will, we are in a position to take the steps necessary to... contain the spread of the disease as far as we can, and to protect the most vulnerable," he said.
The UK action plan will be published tomorrow, on Tuesday 3rd March.
There are now 89,847 reported cases of coronavirus across the globe, with 3,069 deaths.
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China still has the highest number of cases, with just over 80,000, while South Korea has a reported 4,355. See below for the latest coronavirus cases in each country.
China - 80,026
South Korea - 4,355
Italy - 1,704
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Iran - 1,501
Japan - 274
Germany - 150
France - 130
Spain - 120
Singapore - 108
Hong Kong - 100
USA - 88
Kuwait - 56
Bahrain - 47
Thailand - 43
Taiwan - 40
UK - 40
Australia - 30
Malaysia - 29
Canada - 24
Switzerland - 24
Iraq - 21
UAE - 21
Norway - 19
Netherlands - 18
Vietnam - 16
Austria - 15
Sweden - 14
Macao - 10
Israel - 10
Lebanon - 10
San Marino - 8
Belgium - 8
Croatia - 8
Greece - 7
Ecuador - 6
Finland - 6
Oman - 6
India - 5
Mexico - 5
Denmark - 4
Pakistan - 4
Philippines - 3
Algeria - 3
Azerbaijan - 3
Czechia - 3
Georgia - 3
Iceland - 3
Qatar - 3
Romania - 3
Russia - 3
Brazil - 2
Egypt - 2
Indonesia - 2
Portugal - 2
Afghanistan - 1
Andorra - 1
Armenia - 1
Belarus - 1
Cambodia - 1
Dominican Republic - 1
Estonia - 1
Ireland - 1
Jordan - 1
Lithuania - 1
Luxembourg - 1
North Macedonia - 1
Monaco - 1
Nepal - 1
New Zealand - 1
Nigeria - 1
Sri Lanka - 1
Diamond Princess cruise ship - 705
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