Military to help NHS cope with major coronavirus outbreak

Contingency plans and proposed emergency laws for pandemic emerge as UK confirms 20th case

The UK is facing its first significant test of how to contain a potential coronavirus outbreak after the government confirmed a 20th victim of Covid-19 and details began to emerge of its contingency planning and emergency legislation for an upsurge in cases.

The latest patient in England is the first to contract the illness while in the UK. The chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty, said it was unclear whether the man from Surrey contracted it directly or indirectly from someone who had recently returned from abroad.

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