80% of the UK could catch Coronavirus

Up t0 80% of the UK could become infected with Coronavirus: a summary of the situation at home.

In the latest reports, the National Security Communications Team have stated that up to 80% of the UK population could catch Coronavirus. In a paper, titled Covid-19 Reasonable Worst-Case Scenario, they have said that:

“For the UK, this could involve up to 80% of the population being infected; however, not all of these people will experience symptoms and the vast majority of cases will be mild disease.”
“This is based on the currently available scientific evidence.”
“Covid-19 is a previously unknown virus, which means the global population has little to no immunity to infection.”
“There are currently no clinical counter-measures available to treat Covid-19 and a vaccine is unlikely to be available for many months.”

At present, treatment is only able to focus on relieving the symptoms of infection.

In a scenario where 80% of the UK became infected with Coronavirus, it is predicted that, of those who do develop the symptoms, “2% to 3% will result in a fatality.” 2,770 deaths have already occurred worldwide.

While this may sound dramatic, the most recent situation report issued by The World Health Organization has announced that for the first time since the initial outbreak in December 2019, there are now more new cases of the disease being reported daily outside of China than inside it. The UK government have said that they are in fact currently preparing for a range of scenarios, including this as the reasonable worst case scenario.

As of last night, 81,109 cases had been reported globally. 871 of these have occurred within the past day. 100 of the most recent cases are in Europe, and the UK has the third highest infection rate in Europe.

This alarming rate of increase could potentially mean millions of infected UK citizens and hundreds of thousands of deaths. The population of the UK is currently around 66.4 million.

Current evidence suggests that the elderly and those with underlying health problems are most at risk from Coronavirus.

Health Sectary Matt Hancock has confirmed that Britons forced to isolate themselves because of exposure to the virus will be eligible for sick leave. He has also said that the government and NHS are developing isolation pods and are looking to extend home testing.

8 of the 13 British people who have contracted the virus have now been discharged from hospital.

15 UK schools have now closed because of an association with Coronavirus. Schools and business across the country have been placed on alert.