Coronavirus: UK enters 'delay' phase with people with symptoms asked to self isolate for seven days, says Nicola Sturgeon

Scottish first minister pre-empts Boris Johnson with announcement from emergency Cobra meeting

Nicola Sturgeon has announced the UK is escalating its response to the coronavirus outbreak, with people showing symptoms asked to self isolate for seven days from Friday.

In a speech which pre-empted an official announcement from Boris Johnson, Ms Sturgeon said the UK has moved into the "delay" phase, where the objective is to slow down the spread of the virus.

The Scottish first minister took part in Thursday's Cobra emergency meeting, where medical experts and ministers had been expected to announce tougher measures to combat coronavirus.

Anyone with symptoms indicative of coronavirus should self-isolate for seven days from Friday, she said, which includes a fever or a persistent cough.

Ministers have stopped short of calling for school closures but trips abroad should be cancelled, Ms Sturgeon added.

Ms Sturgeon told journalists: "The decision has been taken that we have now moved from a contain phase into the delay phase, where the objective is to seek to slow down the spread of the virus, to reduce the numbers who will be infected at the peak, the number infected at any one time.

"That is clearly important in terms of trying to alleviate the pressure that is place at any one time on our health service."

People will not be routinely tested but surveillance and sample testing will continue, she said.

In Scotland, gatherings of more than 500 people will be cancelled to limit the spread of coronavirus - but such policies are not in place in the rest of the UK.

It comes as two more deaths were announced in British hospitals, with the number of cases surging to nearly 600.

The latest deaths were of an 89-year-old at Charing Cross Hospital in London and a woman in her sixties at Queen's Hospital in Romford. Both had underlying health conditions.

Mr Johnson was expected to update the public after the Cobra meeting on Thursday amid growing pressure over the UK's measured response compare to escalating efforts from other countries.

Earlier, Irish premier Leo Varadkar announced that schools, colleges and childcare facilities will close until the end of the month to cope with the outbreak, which has been declared as a global pandemic by health experts.

Museums, galleries and other tourist destinations will also close.

Mr Varadkar said: "I know that some of this is coming as a real shock and it is going to involve big changes in the way we live our lives.

"I know that I am asking people to make enormous sacrifices. We're doing it for each other."