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Updated March 3rd, 2020 at 20:27 IST

Boris Johnson says UK ready for coronavirus, 'army could step in if things get worse'

UK prime Minster Boris Johnson has claimed that his country was fully prepared to battle the deadly coronavirus, international media reported.

Reported by: Riya Baibhawi
Boris Johnson says UK ready for coronavirus, army could step in worst case
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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has claimed that his country was fully prepared to battle the deadly coronavirus, international media reported. According to reports, he also said that he could ask the army to step in the worst-case scenario. The virus, first detected in China has infected more than 89,000 people globally and reportedly caused over 3,000 deaths. According to international media, Britain has reported 40 cases of COVID-19 and 1 death till now. 

Read: Britain Will Not Sell Out Its Fishermen To Strike Deal With EU: UK Lawmaker

Highly unlikely that numbers will grow in UK

While speaking to international media, the British PM said that he fully understands the public concern about the global spread of coronavirus but it was highly unlikely that the UK will see growing numbers. He further said that keeping Britain safe was the “government’s overriding priority.”  Talking about the army intervention, he said that the army is always ready to backfill but that would be under a “reasonable worst-case scenario.”

Read: Pakistan To Request Boris Johnson's Govt For Nawaz Sharif's Deportation

Britain's chief medical officer on March 3 that 1% of people who contract the new coronavirus might die, based on the Chinese experience. Speaking at a news conference alongside British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Britain's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, Professor Chris Whitty added that the risk was higher in older and more vulnerable people.

Read: Boris Johnson Says More Cases Expected In UK As Coronavirus Fear Looms Large

He said that predicting a percentage of how many would be infected was "largely speculative" because of the proportion of people who have no symptoms of the disease and who have not been counted in the overall numbers, and what proportion of the population can get infected. "It will not go above 80% so for planning purposes, of course, we go up to the highest rate that we reasonably could," he said, stressing that the percentage would likely be much lower than that. 

Read: Pakistan To Request Boris Johnson's Govt For Nawaz Sharif's Deportation

Read: Everything You Need To Know About UK PM Boris Johnson's Fiancee Carrie Symonds

 

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Published March 3rd, 2020 at 20:27 IST

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