Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Coronavirus 'worst public health crisis for a generation': Boris Johnson

British prime minister Boris Johnson on Thursday (12) declared the coronavirus pandemic as the "worst public health crisis for a generation", as he announced that the UK would be moving to the next level of its fightback strategy to delay the peak of the virus outbreak to the warmer months.

After he chaired an emergency meeting of the Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (COBRA) at Downing Street in London, Johnson announced that everyone with flu-like symptoms including a persistent cough or high fever must now self-isolate at home for the next seven days.


He said that the scientific advice was not to shut down schools at this stage because it could do more harm than good, but that decision would remain under constant review.

“This is the worst public health crisis for a generation,” said Johnson.

"Some people compare it to seasonal flu, alas that is not right. Owing to the lack of immunity, this disease is more dangerous," Johnson said, as he made a direct appeal to older people to take extra care and repeated his plea for thorough hand-washing.

From Friday, all school trips abroad will be banned, and older people and those with pre-existing health conditions have been told not to go on cruises.

Johnson said he wanted to level with the country and admitted that many more families are going to lose loved ones before their time as a result of the outbreak.

He said moving from the “containment” to the “delay” phase of the government strategy was based on advice that if the peak of the disease can be delayed by even a “few weeks”, the NHS will be in a stronger position to handle it because of the improving weather, more beds will be available and there will be greater time for medical research.

Delaying the outbreak's impact could also buy time for the testing of drugs and development of vaccines and/or improved therapies or tests to help reduce the impact of the disease.

“We are now getting onto the next phase in that plan because this is now not just an attempt to contain the disease as far as possible but to delay the spread and thereby minimise the suffering,” said Johnson.

Under the previous strategy of containment, people were told to self-isolate only if they had the cough and fever but had also been to an affected country recently, or had contact with someone who had tested positive for the virus.

So far in the UK, 10 people have died of COVID-19 and there are 596 confirmed cases across the country, which the government says is likely to further rise considerably in the coming days.

The government''s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, said the actual number of people infected could be anywhere between 5,000 and 10,000 given the nature of the pandemic.

More For You

Brothers deny assaulting police during Manchester Airport brawl

Photo for representation. (iStock)

Brothers deny assaulting police during Manchester Airport brawl

TWO brothers accused of assaulting a man inside a Starbucks and later attacking police officers at Manchester Airport are standing trial, with the prosecution arguing they used "unlawful and extreme violence".

Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, and his older brother Muhammad Amaad, 26, both from Rochdale, are said to have acted aggressively on July 23 last year while at the airport to pick up their mother, who had arrived on a flight from Qatar.

Keep ReadingShow less
Court to review teen's sentence in Bhim Kohli case
Bhim Kohli

Court to review teen's sentence in Bhim Kohli case

THE seven-year prison sentence handed to a 15-year-old boy convicted of the manslaughter of 80-year-old Bhim Sen Kohli is to be reviewed under the UK’s Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.

The Attorney General’s Office confirmed on Friday (5) that the teenager’s sentence will now be considered by the Court of Appeal.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dalai Lama hopes to live 'beyond 130 years'

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama attends a prayer meet held for his long life at the Dalai Lama temple in the northern hill town of Dharamshala, India, July 5, 2025. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

Dalai Lama hopes to live 'beyond 130 years'

THE Dalai Lama said on Saturday (5) he hopes to live until he is more than 130 years old, two decades longer than his previous prediction, following his assurance to followers that he would reincarnate as the spiritual head of the faith upon his death.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner was speaking during a ceremony organised by his followers to offer prayers for his long life, ahead of his 90th birthday on Sunday (6), and as China insists it will choose his successor. The Dalai Lama told Reuters in December he might live to 110.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK heatwave by mid-July

Daytime temperatures meeting or exceeding set thresholds of 25°C

iStock

Met Office warns of potential third UK heatwave by mid-July

Key points

  • Met Office forecasts rising temperatures by mid-July
  • Possible third heatwave after record-breaking June
  • High pressure system likely to bring hot air from the Atlantic
  • Yellow rain warning and flood alerts issued in parts of Scotland and Cumbria

Possible heatwave to return by mid-July

The UK could experience its third heatwave in a month by mid-July, the Met Office has said. Forecasters expect rising heat and humidity during the second weekend of July, following two weekends of unusually warm weather in late June.

June was officially the hottest on record in England, and the return of high temperatures could mean another heatwave for parts of the country. However, the Met Office cautioned that it is too early to confirm how hot conditions will get.

Keep ReadingShow less
crypto

Two men have been jailed for defrauding investors of £1.5 million through a fake crypto investment scheme. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Two jailed over £1.5m crypto investment scam

TWO people who duped investors of £1.5 million by selling fake investments in crypto have been jailed for 12 years, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said.

Raymondip Bedi, of Bromley, and Patrick Mavanga, of Peckham, conned at least 65 people by cold-calling them between February 2017 and June 2019. They operated companies including CCX Capital and Astaria Group LLP.

Keep ReadingShow less