By Ben Kerrigan-
Up to one fifth of the British workforce could be absent from work, Boris Johnson said as he produced a four-point plan that will focus on containing , delaying, researching and mitigating the coronavirus
In a “stretching scenario”, It is possible that up to one fifth of employees may be absent from work during peak weeks. Supporting staff welfare “will be critical” for businesses he said.
Johnson confirmed that the UK has stockpiles of medicines for the NHS, plus protective clothing and equipment for medical staff. The spread of the virus can be delayed by people washing their hands with soap regularly, not spreading misinformation, and relying on trusted sources.
He urged the British public to check Foreign Office advice before travelling abroad and be understanding of the pressures the health service is under. He added that the spread of the disease could force police to drop low-priority cases and the NHS to delay non-urgent care if public sector staff fall ill in large numbers.
He said the public will be asked to accept that “the advice for managing Covid-19 for most people will be self-isolation at home and simple over the counter medicines”.If coronavirus becomes established, there will be a focus on essential services and helping those “most at risk to access the right treatment”.
All Government departments to have a lead person for coronavirus. School closures, encouraging greater home working, reducing the number of large scale gatherings and closing other educational settings. Non-urgent operations and other procedures could be cancelled, and hospital discharges monitored to free-up beds, with appropriate care in people’s homes.
Included in his plans was a distribution strategy for sending out key medicines and equipment to NHS and social care. Everyone is susceptible to catching the disease and thus it is “more likely than not that the UK will be significantly affected”. There could be an “increase in deaths arising from the outbreak, particularly among vulnerable and elderly groups”.