Up to a fifth of British workers could be off sick during the peak of a coronavirus epidemic, Boris Johnson’s government warned on Tuesday.
Police would respond to only the most serious crimes, hospitals would postpone some medical procedures and the army could be called out in support of the emergency services.
A 28-page plan said the authorities would attempt to contain and delay the spread of the virus, while researching the best models of care and preparing to mitigate the impact of an epidemic. 51 cases have been identified in the UK and Mr Johnson said it was "highly likely" the number would rise.
“For the overwhelming majority of people who contract the virus, this will be a mild disease from which they will speedily and fully recover as we’ve already seen. But I fully understand public concern, your concern, about the global spread of this virus. And it is highly likely that we will see a growing number of UK cases,” he said.
“And that’s why keeping the country safe is the government’s overriding priority. And our plan means we’re committed to doing everything possible based on the advice of our world leading scientific experts to prepare for all eventualities.”
The prime minister was speaking at a press conference alongside Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England and Patrick Vallance, Britain's chief scientific officer. Dr Whitty played down the risk to healthy people from going abroad for holidays but he suggested that older people should consider the standard of the health service before choosing a holiday destination.
"If you happen to be in a place with a very weak health service at the peak of their epidemic, weaker than the NHS, that obviously might be more problematic," he said.
“They might want to think through the practicalities of being in a place that has a health service that is weaker than the NHS.”
There are no plans as yet to close schools or to cancel major events such as sports fixtures and Sir Patrick said there was no reason to change behaviour beyond taking precautions such as washing hands.
“Once the epidemic is everywhere, then actually restricting travel makes no difference at all. At the moment we are certainly not recommending any change to behaviours in relation to that. And if it grows in the UK, then of course it doesn’t really make more sense to say that you’re at more risk somewhere else than you are here,” he said.
Mr Johnson and his health secretary Matt Hancock suggested that the government could change the rules on sick pay to ensure that workers are not out of pocket if they self-isolate to avoid spreading the virus. Unions warned on Tuesday that workers in the gig economy who are not eligible for sick pay could have to choose between protecting others and being paid.
