London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Coronavirus: Boris Johnson to hold Cobra meeting as UK death toll hits three

Prime minister to consider bringing in tougher measures to delay spread of outbreak
Boris Johnson will decide whether to bring in tougher measures to delay the spread of coronavirus on Monday, after the number of British cases increased by a third to 278 and the number of deaths in the UK rose to three.

The prime minister is to chair his first emergency Cobra meeting on the virus since last Monday, which will look at possible measures if the UK formally moves from trying to contain the outbreak to delaying its impact.

The government’s coronavirus plan, published last week, included suggestions such as social distancing and increased home working at the milder end of the spectrum, to cancelling mass-attendance events and cutting back on essential police and fire services at the more extreme end.

The UK saw its biggest one-day increase in coronavirus cases on Sunday, with 69 new cases confirmed. A man in his 60s, who had underlying health problems, became the third patient to die after testing positive for Covid-19 in the UK. The man, who died at North Manchester general hospital, had recently returned from Italy, NHS England said.

As the government prepared emergency legislation to allow some court proceedings to be heard by phone or video, GPs warned that hospitals would have to cut back on work not related to coronavirus in order to tackle the outbreak.

Ahead of the Cobra meeting, Johnson insisted the UK was “well-prepared and will continue to make decisions to protect the public based on the latest scientific advice”. “Tackling coronavirus will require a national and international effort. I am confident the British people are ready to play their part in that,” he said. “The most valuable thing people can do is wash their hands with soap and water for 20 seconds.”

The government is considering plans to let more people volunteer in the NHS, and the health service said it had already trained about 500 additional initial call responders to help deal with increased demand for the 111 service.

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, said the government would do “everything in its power” to delay and mitigate the coronavirus threat as he set out plans contained in emergency legislation to deal with the impact of the virus.

The bill, which is likely to go through parliament by the end of the month, is expected to include measures to allow some court proceedings to be conducted via telephone or video.

The news came as 32 people who had been aboard a cruise ship in Japan were released from quarantine in Wirral, and two people who had recently returned to Wales from Italy tested positive for the illness.

The Foreign Office said it was “working intensively” with US authorities to arrange a flight for British nationals on the coronavirus-hit Grand Princess cruise ship, which is due to arrive in Oakland, California, on Monday.

A healthcare worker at University Hospital Southampton NHS foundation trust has tested positive for coronavirus. The surgical high-dependency unit, where the person worked a single nightshift on Friday, has been temporarily closed to new admissions as a result.

Prof Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal College of GPs, warned that the Covid-19 outbreak was a “significant crisis” for the health service but said that estimates that 100,000 could die were a “worst-case scenario”.

“If we are going to try to continue doing what we are doing at the health service and tackle coronavirus, it will require a significant amount of resources,” he told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday. “I expect we will cut down in terms of the other work we do.”

Marshall welcomed plans to call upon recently retired doctors to expand the workforce. He said: “I think it is a good idea as long as we do it carefully … and people are estimating that 20% of the workforce might be out of action at any one time when the crisis reaches its peak – people are talking about some time in late April for that. If that happens, then we do need to expand the workforce in whatever way we can.”

World Health Organization representative Dr Margaret Harris warned that government must ensure that supporting health workers is their “number one priority”. She said: “They need backup, they need other people to come and do the shifts. If they’re working massively, they are tremendously at risk.”

Asked if army field hospitals could play a role in the response to the coronavirus outbreak, Harris said: “Certainly the army has great experience of putting up field hospitals. I’ve worked on Ebola and I’ve seen what the British army can do. It’s quite incredible.

“So this is the sort of planning you should be thinking about. Can you set up a field hospital? Where do you set it up? What equipment have you got and what staff have you got and how can you protect everybody working in those conditions?”

Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, has promised to give the NHS “whatever it needs” to tackle the coronavirus crisis, as he looks at loosening the fiscal rules to allow for more borrowing and spending ahead of this week’s budget.

The Scottish first minister and SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon, told Ridge it was “pretty much inevitable that we will need additional resources” in the NHS to cope with coronavirus. A total of 18 people have tested positive for the virus in Scotland.

Government figures released on Sunday morning revealed 64 new coronavirus cases in the UK, with more than 23,513 people tested as of 9am. A further five cases were reported as Sunday wore on. Three people had died as of Sunday night.

Prof Tom Solomon at the Walton Centre NHS foundation trust said that this increase was “not really unexpected” because “it is likely that the number of cases in this country is going to double every few days”.

On Sunday, NHS England announced that 32 people have been given an all-clear for coronavirus after being held in isolation in Wirral after returning from the Diamond Princess cruise liner in Japan. The group – made up of 30 Britons and two Irish people – had been held in quarantine since last month after the ship became a breeding ground for the virus.

Seven people, including one UK citizen, who had been aboard the ship have died so far. Two further patients in Wales also tested positive for coronavirus after returning from northern Italy.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
Jellyfish Swarm Triggers Shutdown at Gravelines Nuclear Power Station in Northern France
×