The UK isn't yet and health officials are defending their decision not to.

The deputy chief medical officer for England is warning that the UK could see epidemic numbers going into the thousands in the next two weeks.

I think we will see many more cases on this is slightly worrying.

I realize it sounds an awful lot of numbers of people, but actually a lot of people have coughs and colds over the winter.

Normally, a lot of people have flew.

The important thing here is this is a new disease and we need to be very careful about protecting those individuals who we think are most at risk.

On the day where we've seen the second highest daily rise in cases up by 54th what's hopes of 373 and six people have tested positive have died.

The latest patient to die was being treated here was Hartford U.

N H s trust Say he was in his early eighties and had underlying health conditions.

There's also another worry, and that's coming from frontline medical staff.

Dr.

Neil Tucker is a GP in Oxford.

There's a lot of concern that we're at risk of getting the condition, and it's not so much that we're concerned about our own personal safety because I think we will appreciate that.

The risk to most of us as individuals is very small with Corona virus, But I think we're worried about being vectors for the disease.

And of course, we'll will routinely be seeing 30 patients or so face to face every single day in practice.

On, we're seeing some of the most vulnerable patients, the elderly, those with multiple chronic medical conditions, and the last thing we want to do is be putting them at risk.

But there was some good news for medical workers today is, the health secretary said.

The personal protection equipment they've been waiting for is finally reaching them.

As the amount of cases has gone up, there's a rising demand in wanting to be tested.

Channel four News has heard from people anxious at home self isolating who was still waiting.

So what typically happens in this situation is there's always prioritization to the patients that really urgently need the result.

So you'll notice, for example, that if you have a patient with severe symptoms, they're test result is likely to be turned around much faster because it has an effect on their treatment.

So how does the U K compare?

As of March, the 8th 1707 patients had been tested in the United States, according to their Center for Disease Control in the UK.

By eighth of March, 23,513 people have been tested for covert 19.

If we look at South Korea, which had a massive outbreak as of midnight on the eighth of March, they tested over 188,000 people.

Officials in South Korea now believe that they have passed the peak of the infection.

The big difference between the situation in South Korea and the U.

K is much more likely not to be about the way the testing is done, but actually to be done.

T to do with the outbreak dynamics on dhe the number of people who are infected the government has released this new map showing the spread of the virus in the coming days will also be rating for the release of their next steps, which could restrict our daily lives or joining me now is Dr Rosalind Ago an infectious disease model er in public health epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Doctor wasn't Eggar.

What does your modeling tell you right now about what we might be looking at in two weeks, time and beyond if you can.

So right now we're what looks like the start of things.

We've seen a lot of cases that have arrived from other countries, and now we're starting to see a little bit of community spread.

So that means people who have acquired the infection in the UK and over the next couple of weeks we expect to see those numbers to grow.

But by how much can you say it's difficult?

I mean, if you look on a curve, where do we get so if no efforts were taken, it looks like the number of cases for this particular virus doubles in approximately 4 to 6 days.

But in the UK, things are being done.

So cases are being followed that being rapidly isolated and their contacts are being found in order to decrease transmission.

So we're no in a situation where nothing is being done.

But we're also getting reports that a lot of people with symptoms and not getting the test because there's a delay in testing.

So is there a possibility that number of cases that are being declared is actually anon dressed mint?

That's often the case for all refer to virus infections.

That the number of cases that are that are observed is smaller on what we have to do in the is increased testing as much as possible and get our viral surveillance systems looking for this in the right places to understand really what the epidemic is doing.

What do you mean by that viral surveillance systems?

So in the UK, we have strong viral surveillance systems for especially for respiratory viruses that take samples from patients, that GPS patients are hospitals and look for what we call syndrome with surveillance and looking for people who are reporting symptoms consistent with the affection.

And so through all of these different pieces of information, we can understand the bigger picture of what's happening with the epidemic in the UK.

Looking at the figures now on only evidence, are you confident that the disease is being contained, as the government suggests, it's really it's a difficult thing to say.

We are starting to Seymour elected these community cases and as as we see more of those than it, it becomes clear it will become clear what we should do next.

But couldn't you put a lid on those?

If you act more aggressively at the government, act more aggressively to Kirby gatherings, close schools, the kind of things that other European countries are doing with similar number of cases to ours.

So deciding when to do the put these extra measures in place is a really difficult decision because, you know, we have people have to believe that that's the right thing to do.

If they're going to do it, if they're going to participate in these interventions and we have to be able to keep them going as long as we need to, to really flatten out the curve and that's the goal here is to take these interventions on.

What we're talking about is increasing what we call the social distance between people so decreasing the contact people have and decreasing the chance that we pass it and flatten out the epidemic of longest possible.

Very, very briefly.

We end up looking at a situation like Italy is that possible in the UK?

Well, we have to take this opportunity to learn from the other countries that have seen epidemics.

And if nothing is done, then you can see case many more cases.

That's clear from a lot of countries now.

So we have an opportunity, Thio.

But if we're not canceling things like Cheltenham races, we're not learning from other countries taking swift of foot decisive action, right making those decisions.

It's really tough to balance the problems, the priorities and the best advice is being given scientific advice to make those decisions.

Dr.

Rosen Dagger Thanks very much.

Airlines are struggling tonight to cope with mass cancellations.

Is the virus outbreaks lead to plummeting demand for international flights?

Ryan and British Airways to cancel their flights to in from Italy at least until early April.

At the same time, the U case hospitality industry is morning that it is already experiencing a drop off in bookings as customers stay away from bars, restaurants and hotels are business and global trade correspondent Paul McNamara reports now from Leeds just yet.

There's a whole lot of beer and a little bit of bother brewing in Leeds.

Well, our biggest seller is China.

Okay, Second biggest is probably it's silly writes 1.5 million points of pumped out of this brewery every year on the third of them are sent overseas.

The last shipment to China set sail just two weeks before the Corona virus crisis hit.

We usually bring for the second order of year now, which would go around April May, but it's all on hold.

We don't know when.

When the next orders coming.

You literally have no idea, no indefinite basis at the moment.

And I think shipping container full of it.

Yeah, it's a lot of beer wavering, quite different lines.

Money get a lot of money.

Yeah, So far, sales at home, their most important market, are holding up.

But as for trips to festivals that could open up new business, it's a tough course.

So it's six international trips to be kind of planning in May, at the memory of all the way, haven't bought any replies.

We're holding up a final flights until, maybe, like even the day before an event, it's a thought process that's been echoed the world over today.

Qantas and out is cutting almost 1/4 of international flights.

British Airways and Ryan Air have canceled all flights to whistling until next month on airlines globally fear losing billions.

Flights of frozen visitor numbers are down in other industries, supply chains are in limbo and companies are trying to work out how best to protect themselves.

The truth is, we still don't know what the full effect of kroner virus will be on the wider economy.

But on the industries at the forefront, there are already great big warning signs.

Last week it was a Ziff.

Somebody flipped a switch on.

We've had a real decline in footfall in city centres.

Sales are down, sometimes as high as 50% down on we've seen event cancellations and holiday cancellations going forward.

So in the future we've got no income and no trade coming in on.

We've got a very tight squeeze at the present moment.

It doesn't take a retail expert toe workout that can't continue for long before businesses face bolding jobs being lost, government intervention may be required, and tomorrow may be the moment to announce it.

The directors, they're very, very interested in what the budget will say.

And if it's going to be any provision for small businesses in the budget, if it's going to be any tax relief, any help in national insurance or anything, because if we're not open for trading, we have salaries to pay on.

That cash flow gets very tight very quickly.

Whatever options government is rolling around doing nothing, can't be one of them business.

Expect something to be delivered well.

Donald Trump has said that the Corona virus will go away and that everyone should stay calm.

He made The remarks are for lunch with Republicans, where they discussed his stimulus options to deal with the economic impact of Covert 19.

She won't.

Kennedy is in Washington for us now.

Shovel Well, Kathy.

The numbers here in the U.

S.

Is still relatively low.

About 647 cases, 25 deaths.

But the panic is certainly setting in Florida today has declared a state of emergency, and the National Guard has been deployed to a new containment zone in upstate New York.

And behind me there on Capitol Hill, Congressman on Women have been issued new guidance today to stop shaking hands or touching each other during meetings.

About an hour ago, the president emerged from a meeting with Republican senators where he was trying to sell.

His idea of a payroll tax break is a stimulus toe counter the economic impact off the virus.

And he was instead asked about whether or not he had himself being tested after it emerged that five people that he had been in contact with her since gone into self isolation because they had been in contact with people with the virus.

Let's hear what his response to that waas Well, I don't think it's a big deal.

I would do it.

I don't feel that any reason.

I feel extremely good.

I feel very good.

But I guess it's not a big deal to get tested and something I would do.

But again, I spoke to the White House doctor, terrific guy, talented guy.

He said he sees no reason to do it.

There's no symptoms, no anything.

I think it's fair enough to say that the president is still Maur obsessed with the economic impact of the virus than he is about the virus himself.

His message.