A Foreign Office spokesperson said:
We continue to work closely with the US authorities to repatriate British nationals on board the Grand Princess.
The US are currently planning for a flight to leave tomorrow evening, returning to the UK on Wednesday afternoon. We remain in contact with all British nationals on board and will continue to offer support.
This morning I chaired a meeting of the government’s COBR emergency committee on the Coronavirus outbreak.
The First Ministers of Scotland and Wales and the First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland also attended and we agreed to continue to work closely in the weeks and months ahead.
We received a detailed briefing from the Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Scientific Advisor. And again I repeat my gratitude to both Chris and to Patrick.
There have now been four deaths from coronavirus in the UK, and our deepest sympathies are obviously with their friends and families.
Our action plan as you know sets out the four phases of our approach to tackling the virus: Contain, Delay, Research, and Mitigate.
We remain in the Contain phase of the outbreak, but watching what is happening around the world, our scientists think containment is extremely unlikely to work on its own, and that is why we are making extensive preparations for a move to the delay phase.
We are preparing various actions to slow the spread of this disease in order to reduce the strain it places on the NHS. The more we can delay the peak of the spread to the summer, the better the NHS will be able to manage.
Patrick and Chris will give you some more detailed information on the latest advice we are giving the public today – and how we expect that advice to change as the outbreak develops.
As things stand I’m afraid it bears repeating that the best thing we can all do is wash our hands for 20 seconds with soap and water. We will also take questions, because I know there are lots of things the public want to hear from our advisors about.
But before that I want to stress the following things:
First, we are doing everything we can to combat this outbreak, based on the very latest scientific and medical advice.
Second, we have a truly brilliant NHS, where staff have responded with all the determination, compassion and skill that makes their service so revered across the world. And they will continue to have this government’s full support, my support, in tackling this virus on the frontline.
Third, we will set out further steps in the days and weeks ahead to help people protect themselves, their family and in particular the elderly and vulnerable.
And finally, while it is absolutely critical, it’s absolutely critical in managing the spread of this virus that we take the right decisions at the right time, based on the latest and best evidence. So we must not do things which have no or limited medical benefit, nor things which could turn out to be counterproductive.
There is no hiding from the fact that the coronavirus outbreak will present significant challenges for the UK, just as it does in other countries.
But if we continue to look out for one another, to pull together in a united and national effort, I have no doubt that we can and will rise to that challenge. And I’m now going to ask Patrick and then Chris to give their own perspective on where we are.
We are concerned that North Korea has carried out multiple ballistic missile launches, a clear breach of UN Security Council resolutions, the fifteenth ballistic missile test in the past year and the second in two weeks.
We call for the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of the DPRK. Until we see credible steps towards this goal, sanctions must continue to be enforced.
We strongly encourage North Korea to change course and to focus on building a brighter future for its people.
The government has announced it will work with local authorities to extend the hours that deliveries can be made to supermarkets and other food retailers to help the industry respond to the coronavirus.
The new measures would mean food retailers can increase the frequency of deliveries to their stores and move stocks more quickly from warehouses across the country to replenish their shelves.
The announcement follows last week’s call between the Environment Secretary and leading supermarkets, during which the industry said a relaxation of curfews would help retailers respond to the increased consumer demand for some products, namely hygiene products and a limited number of long life items.
Current rules mean that deliveries are prohibited overnight so that vehicles do not disturb residents. The government will temporarily relax the enforcement of restrictions to give greater flexibility.
These measures follow a further call between the Environment Secretary and leading representatives from across the food industry.
We have listened to our leading supermarkets and representatives from across the industry, and we are taking action to support their preparations. By allowing night time deliveries to our supermarkets and food retailers we can free them up to move their stocks more quickly from their warehouses to their shelves.
Our retailers have well-established contingency plans in place and are taking all the necessary steps to ensure consumers have the food and supplies they need. I will continue to work closely with them over the coming days and weeks on this.
We welcome all efforts by government to provide supermarkets with greater flexibility in the way they supply their stores. While there is plenty of stock available, the challenge for retailers has been to make sure all of it reaches shelves at the earliest opportunity. It is essential that government continues to engage on other ways to alleviate the challenges for retailers.
The Environment Secretary held a call with representatives from across the food supply chain at 4pm today to discuss further ways to help with their preparations, and in particular to look at support for vulnerable groups who may be in isolation.
The call was productive, with the Secretary of State, retailers and food industry representatives discussing areas where further action could be taken to support the steps companies are already taking on delivery and collection services, and support vulnerable customers.
The government is also looking closely at measures to ensure supply chains continue to function as normal. The Transport Secretary stands ready to implement existing rules that allow for extensions on drivers’ hours to help respond to emergency situations, as needed.
These rules would help the industry respond to any shortage of delivery drivers but would still require 45 minute breaks after four and a half hours of driving to make sure drivers are properly rested. The government would work closely with employers on any use of these rules to make sure the safety of drivers and other road users is protected.
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