Officials are urging Britons to wash their hands for at least 20 seconds.

Front line battle against coronavirus is NHS campaign about washing hands

NHS adverts across the UK are set to drive home the importance of handwashing in the fight against coronavirus, as part of a new government campaign.

The ‘single most important thing’ Britons can do to protect themselves against Covid-19 and preventing it spreading further, is regular and thorough handwashing, say NHS officials.

As part of the government’s ‘battle plan’ to contain the virus, a renewed public information campaign is being launched to urge people to wash their hands for at least 20 seconds with antibacterial soap or hand sanitiser.

data-ad-format="fluid" data-ad-client="ca-pub-2730293094729387" data-ad-slot="6787193373"> The adverts – to be rolled out across all media and billboards – will tell Britons to scrub their hands after arriving from home or work, after they blow their nose, cough or sneeze, and before they eat or handle food.

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NHS release official hand washing advice against coronavirus

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data-ad-format="fluid" data-ad-client="ca-pub-2730293094729387" data-ad-slot="6787193373"> Many have started panic buying amid the outbreak, despite the government advising the public not to, with masks and hand sanitisers flying off the shelves, with one Boots being forced to impose a two-bottle limit on customers.
It comes a day after the government unveiled its strategy of ‘contain, delay, research, mitigate’ to combat an outbreak, as the number of confirmed cases in the UK jumped to 51, while a British woman in Tenerife has also tested positive.

Officials warned that up to a fifth of the UK workforce could be off sick when the virus hits its peak and up to 80 per cent could be affected in a worst-case scenario, however the ‘overwhelming majority’ will ‘speedily recover’, said Boris Johnson.

As part of plans, NHS England has ordered hospitals to review their intensive care bed numbers and how they could be increased to cope with a surge in cases.

In a letter to NHS bosses, strategic incident director Keith Willett said a level four incident – the highest category – had been declared.

He raised the prospect that infected patients may soon start being treated on hospital wards as the numbers grow.

Hospitals have been told to draw up plans to segregate wards such as A&E departments in the event of a ‘significant escalation’ in cases, while all adults and children in intensive care with a respiratory infection must now be tested.

Officials are still working to delay the peak of the virus until the warmer months when health services are less busy coping with seasonal flu.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: ‘We all have a role to play in stopping this disease and that’s what this expanded campaign is all about – making sure the public knows exactly what they should be doing to keep themselves and others safe.

‘Washing hands regularly is the single most important thing that an individual can do.’

The 27-page government plan ‘sets out possible strategies for delaying the virus spread including school closures, ‘reducing the number of large-scale gatherings’ and encouraging greater home working.

In a worst case scenario, it said a sharp rise in the numbers could see non-urgent operations cancelled and recently retired NHS staff being called back to duty.

The document also raises the possibility that at the virus peak, police could switch to dealing with only serious crime and maintaining public order, while the military could be drafted in to support the emergency services.

Launching the plan at a Downing Street press conference, the PM said he had no doubt at all the country would get through coronavirus ‘in good shape’, saying most affected would suffer only a ‘mild disease’.

Government scientific experts predict the UK would see a coronavirus peak two to three months, after sustained person to person transmission becomes established across the country.

There will then be a further two to three months of decline, meaning an outbreak could last around four to six months.

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