Fifth patient dies in UK from novel coronavirus

The death toll from novel coronavirus in the United Kingdom reached five on Monday when two more patients, both in their 70s and with existing health problems, died, at Royal Wolverhampton Hospital and St Helier Hospital in South London respectively.

These followed news that a man in his 60s, who also had pre-existing health problems and who had recently returned from Italy, died at North Manchester General Hospital on Sunday.

According to official government figures, as of 9am on Monday the UK had 319 confirmed cases, up 47 on the figure from 24 hours earlier.

On Monday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson chaired a COBRA meeting as the country continued to assess its response to the spread of the novel coronavirus, after which Health Secretary Matt Hancock updated members of Parliament.

"We are not at this stage proposing the cancelation of mass events because we are following the scientific advice that that is not what is proposed at this stage," he said in the House of Commons.

"What we are saying from a government point of view is you should follow public health advice, if you are returning from an affected area and you have symptoms, you should stay at home which of course means home working."

Speaking on the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire show earlier, Sergio Brusin from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said "the UK is in the same situation Italy was two weeks ago", adding that the country had only a "few days" to put measures in place to prevent an outbreak on a similar scale.

Italy has been hit by a wave of prison riots as restrictions on movement caused by the impact of the novel coronavirus prevented inmates receiving visitors.

A riot and fire at Modena prison on Sunday left six people dead and by Monday lunchtime the BBC's Rome correspondent Mark Lowen reported there had been incidents at 27 jails nationwide.

All 20 regions of Italy have now been affected by the virus and as of Monday afternoon the total number of infections stood at 9,172, with a death toll of 463, the highest of any country apart from China.

Cinemas and museums have been shut down, and restaurants are subject to limited opening hours, with customers having to sit at least one meter apart. Even weddings and funerals have been suspended.

On Sunday, the tightest restrictions on internal movement seen since World War II were introduced, with up to 16 million people in regions of the north of the country that include the economic powerhouse of Milan and popular tourist destination of Venice needing permission to travel.

People breaking curfew face up to three months in jail, and two youths attempting to leave Parma, in the restricted area, to catch a flight from Bologna, outside it, were detained by police.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has said the country will overcome the crisis as long as people follow the rules, and even invoked the spirit of British World War II leader Winston Churchill.

"These days, I have been thinking about the old speeches of Churchill — it is our darkest hour, but we will make it," he told La Repubblica newspaper.

Two more deaths have been reported in Germany, and France, which has had more than 1,100 cases and 19 fatalities, has now banned gatherings of more than 1,000 people. Five members of the French National Assembly have tested positive.

European Union Council President Charles Michel said a conference call of European leaders will take place soon to discuss a coordinated response to the outbreak.

French President Emmanuel Macron echoed his sentiments, tweeting: "To deal with COVID-19, unity is strength … I call on our European partners to act urgently to coordinate health measures, research efforts and our economic response."

The BBC reported that Sweden appeared to have its first localized case of novel coronavirus, meaning someone with no clear link to other infected patients or who had not traveled overseas.

In Ireland, major public events to mark St Patrick's Day on March 17 have been cancelled and Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has announced he will curtail his traditional St Patrick's Day visit to the United States, abandoning a visit to New York.

The International Olympic Committee confirmed that Thursday's lighting of the Olympic torch at Olympia in Greece, for the Tokyo Summer Olympic games, will take place without spectators.