Coronavirus: UK outbreak ‘accelerating’ amid fears country on same path as Italy

Latest figures show 233 deaths from Covid-19 respiratory illness, mirroring what the death toll in the world’s hardest hit country was on March 7

It prompted Prime Minister Boris Johnson to warn that Britain was ‘only a matter of weeks’ behind Italy, with thousands more deaths

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People wear masks as they walk over Millennium Bridge near St Paul's Cathedral in London on Sunday. Photo: AP

Published: 11:06pm, 22 Mar 2020Updated: 11:06pm, 22 Mar 2020

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Sunday the coronavirus outbreak was “accelerating”, as fears grew that the crisis in Britain was following the same path as the one devastating Italy.

Johnson’s plea came after latest health department figures showed that 233 people have died from the Covid-19 respiratory illness in the UK, with the number of those testing positive for the virus standing at 5,018.

That death toll mirrors the same figure declared in Italy on March 7. On Saturday, Rome said that 4,825 people had perished in the country, a third of the world’s total.

“The numbers are very stark, and they are accelerating,” Johnson said in a statement ahead of a planned press briefing later in the day.

“We are only a matter of weeks – two or three – behind Italy. The Italians have a superb health care system. And yet their doctors and nurses have been completely overwhelmed by the demand.”

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