Following a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the United States the previous day, in a man returning to Washington from Wuhan, China, where there were 440 confirmed cases at the time, the Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England raised the risk level from “very low” to “low”.
On 31 January, two members of a family of Chinese nationals staying in a hotel in York, one of whom studied at the University of York, became the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the UK.
On 6 February, a third confirmed case, a man who had recently travelled to Singapore and then France, was reported in Brighton.
On 10 February, the total number of cases in the UK reached eight as four further cases were confirmed in people linked to the affected man from Brighton.
On 23 February, the Department of Health and Social Care confirmed a total of 13 cases in the UK as four new cases in passengers on the cruise ship Diamond Princess were detected.
On 27 February, the total number of confirmed cases in the UK was reported as 16. This included the first case in Northern Ireland – a woman who had travelled from northern Italy.
On 28 February, the first case in Wales was confirmed in a person who had returned from Northern Italy.
On 29 February, three further cases of the virus were confirmed, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 23, after 10,483 people had been tested.
On 1 March, a further 13 cases were reported, adding Greater Manchester and Scotland to the list of areas affected and bringing the total to 36, three of which were believed to be contacts of the case in Surrey who had no history of travel abroad.
The UK Government unveils their Coronavirus Action Plan, which outlined what the UK had done and what it planned to do next.
A woman in her 70s with an existing medical condition is reported to be the first Covid-19 fatality in the UK. She is believed to have caught the virus in the UK.
It is announced that mental health minister Nadine Dorries MP has tested positive for the virus and is self-isolating.
The Word Health Organisation declares a pandemic after the virus spreads to more than 110 countries, causing more than 118,000 cases.
The UK’s ChiefMiedical Officer raised the risk to the UK from Covid-19 from moderate to high.
The number of confirmed cases rises by 208 to 798, with the first death from coronavirus being reported in Scotland.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock announces that everyone in Britain over the age of 70 would be told to self-isolate “within the coming weeks”.
On 17 March, NHS England announced that all non-urgent operations in England would be postponed from 15 April to free up 30,000 beds.
Government announces that schools in the UK were to close the coming Friday to everyone except for children of certain key workers.
Pubs, restaurants, gyms, entertainment venues, museums and galleries are asked to close.
Boris Johnson announces in a television broadcast that measures to mitigate the virus would be tightened further in order to protect the NHS, with wide-ranging restrictions made on freedom of movement, enforceable in law for a planned “lockdown” period intended to last for at least three weeks.
UK prime minister Boris Johnson and health minister Matt Hancock reveal that they have tested positive for the virus.
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This graph displays the number of UK Coronavirus deaths each day. Source: UK Government
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