Coronavirus latest: UK schools could be closed for two months in bid to curb Covid-19 outbreak, chief medical officer warns

Schools in the UK are facing closures of two months to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the country's chief medical officer has said.

So far 16 people have tested positive for the illness in the UK, but Professor Chris Whitty has warned that it is “just a matter of time” before it starts spreading person-to-person in the UK.

It comes as airline Jet2 said it will not fly any of the Brits trapped in the Tenerife quarantine home until they have tested negative after enduring the full duration of the incubation period.

Sports events like the Six Nations have seen cancellations and postponements, and there could be more to come.

At least 83,000 people have been diagnosed worldwide, with more than 2,800 fatalities.

Markets have dropped as much as 10 per cent during the week as traders look to secure their positions.

Professor Chris Whitty, chief medical officer, said on Thursday that there could be a “social cost” if the virus intensifies, including school closures for more than two months.

He told the Nuffield Trust summit: “One of the things that’s really clear with this virus, much more so than flu, is that anything we do we’re going to have to do for quite a long period of time, probably more than two months.”

One of the UK patients had recently returned to Northern Ireland from northern Italy, while a parent at a primary school in Derbyshire contracted the virus in Tenerife.

Burbage Primary School in Buxton remains closed after the adult was diagnosed with the illness and Buxton Medical Practice, a two-minute drive from the school, also urged patients not to come in for appointments on Thursday due to the confirmed case.

The third new patient on Thursday also contracted the virus in Italy, which has become the worst affected country in Europe with at least 650 cases and 15 deaths.

Speaking at a press conference in Belfast, Dr Michael McBride, chief medical officer for Northern Ireland, said: “We have been planning for the first positive case in Northern Ireland and have made clear that it was a question of when not if.

“We have robust infection control measures in place which enable us to respond immediately.

“Our health service is used to managing infections and would assure the public that we are prepared.”

A special unit has been established at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast for isolating those suffering from the virus but the health authorities were unable to confirm where the patient is being treated.

One of the patients in England has been taken to the specialist infectious diseases centre at the Royal Liverpool Hospital and the other to the Royal Free Hospital in London.

Meanwhile, 168 Britons remain confined to the H10 Costa Adeje Palace in Tenerife after at least four guests were diagnosed with coronavirus.

Sources said that around 50 of the Britons will be allowed to leave if they wish.

The Minister of Health in Tenerife said around 130 guests from 11 different countries will be able to leave the hotel if they arrived on Monday, after infected guests had already left.

Airline Jet2 has said it will not fly back any people who have been staying at the hotel until they have tested negative for the illness.

The airline said on Thursday night: “We will not fly any customer who has stayed at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace during the quarantine, until this incubation period has passed or unless they have been explicitly tested for COVID-19 by a recognised authority and are confirmed as clear of the virus.”

Two Britons were among eight people being monitored on board a cruise ship that was turned back by the Dominican Republic.

A joint statement by the Public Health Ministry and Port Authority on the island said the captain of the Braemar, which is carrying around 1,500 people, reported four Filipinos, two British citizens and two US citizens were under medical observation for symptoms such as fever, coughing, or breathing difficulty.

So far in the UK, 7,690 people have been tested for the virus and of the 16 to have tested positive, eight have so far been discharged from hospital.

In China, where the virus originated, 78,497 cases have been reported, including 2,744 deaths.

World Health Organization director-general Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus told a press conference in Geneva on Thursday that coronavirus has the potential to become a global pandemic but this stage had not been reached.

Public health advice remains to wash hands with soap, not rub the face and maintain a distance from people who are coughing and sneezing, he said.